General facts about corn

Posted on 07 mar 2008

Corn is a warm-season crop that requires high temperatures for optimum germination and rapid growth. It is a resistant crop to drought. But maize is most sensitive to drought at the time of silk emergence, when the flowers are ready for pollination. Corn is a graminaceae and annual plant. The United States is the principal producer of corn.

But in the XV-th century Columbus introduced corn to Europe. Columbus was one of the first Europeans that saw maize or corn. Corn quickly spread around the world, following the trade routes of the early Portuguese navigators. Today it remains an important crop not only throughout the Americas but also in the European Danube basin and Po valley, and in parts of Africa, China and India.

In Moldova corn usually is planting in rows. This is a modern technology which allows for cultivation while the plant is young. Main parts of a corn plant corn are: root, stalk, flowering parts and fruit.

  • Root
    The plant part which grow down into the soil in search of water. Water is carried up from the soil to the leaves through the plant's roots, tubes, and veins.

  • Stalk
    Most corn plants have a single stem, called a stalk, which grows vertically upward from the ground. The corn stalk is a straw that is not empty but is filled with core. The height of the stalk depends both on the variety of the corn and the environment in which a corn plant is grown. As the stalk grows, leaves emerge. A typical corn plant grown in Moldova has a stalk that is 160-170 cm tall and has 8 to 12 leaves. The lower part of each leaf wraps around the stalk and is attached to the stalk at a juncture called a node. Typically the lowest four nodes are below ground. Roots develop from each of these nodes. Sometimes, roots develop from the first aboveground node, and these are known as brace roots. Some varieties of corn in certain environments produce secondary stalks, known as tillers, which grow outward from near the base of the main stalk. Corn stalk is used as forage for cattle.

  • Flowering parts
    Every corn plant has both male and female parts. Both male and female flowers are found on the same plant. The male part, which is known as the tassel, emerges from the top of the plant after all the leaves have emerged. The tassel usually consists of several branches, along which many small male flowers are situated. Each male flower releases a large number of pollen grains, each of which contains the male sex cell. The female floral organ is called an ear. The ear develops at the tip of a shank, which is a small, stalk-like structure that grows out from a leaf node located approximately midway between the ground and the tassel. The immature ear consists of a cob, eggs that develop into kernels after pollination, and silks. The cob is a cylindrical structure upon which kernel development occurs. The kernels are arranged on the cob in pairs of rows. From each egg, a hair-like structure called a silk grows and eventually emerges from the tip of the husk, which is a group of leaves attached to the shank that encloses the entire ear.

  • Corn kernels
    In our days the main people’s nourishment is grain, corn and rice. Sweet corn is produced for human consumption as either a fresh or processed product. From corn kernel also is made popcorn. Popcorn is prepared by heating the grains in oil until they puff and burst. Children love this kind of food very much. Corn also is used for animal feed.

In traditional medicine corn is used in the treatment of heart disease, sexual weakness, loss of appetite, to stimulate bile flow, prevent the formation of urinary stones, lower blood sugar levels, and in the cases of difficult urination or edema. It is believed to promote healthy teeth and gums. People also started to cook a meal called ‘mamaliga’ of corn flour. This dish became traditional for the Moldavian cuisine. Mamaliga is a corn mush eaten with butter, cheese, meats, pickle and garlic sauce.

Corn leaf help produce paper, textiles, paints, explosives and plastics. Corn husk is used by craftsmen in order to make hand made objects and souvenirs, as: doilies, dolls, decorative panels, hats and other interesting and original objects.