Maize (Corn)
Zea mays
📖 About this plant
Maize (Zea mays), known as makka in Hindi, makai in Marathi, cholam in Tamil, and corn in North America, is a tall annual grass in the Poaceae family — the third most important cereal crop in the world after wheat and rice, and one of the most agriculturally significant plants ever domesticated. Native to Mexico, where it was domesticated from the wild grass teosinte over 9,000 years ago (one of the most remarkable plant domestication stories in human history — the transformation of teosinte with its few hard-shelled seeds into modern corn with its huge ears of soft kernels), maize was the staple grain of all the great American civilizations — the Maya, Aztec, Inca, and many others. After European contact, maize spread rapidly around the world — to Europe, Africa, and Asia — and is now grown on every continent except Antarctica. India is today one of the worlds top maize producers (alongside USA, China, Brazil, and Argentina), with major cultivation in Karnataka (the largest producer), Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. In India, maize is used for food (especially in the north — Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand — where makki ki roti with sarson ka saag is the iconic winter meal), for poultry feed (the largest use in India — over 50% of Indian maize goes to poultry), for starch and oil extraction, and increasingly for ethanol fuel. The plant is a tall (1.5-3 m) grass with long sword-shaped bright green leaves, a male flower (the “tassel” at the top of the plant), and female flowers that develop into the familiar “ears” — long cylindrical cobs covered in rows of kernels, each kernel with a single long “silk” strand that extends out of the ear and catches pollen from the tassel. There are many types of maize: dent corn (the most widely grown, used for animal feed and processing), flint corn (Indian “flour corn,” used for cornmeal), sweet corn (eaten fresh — the corn on the cob), popcorn (a special type with hard kernel shells that explode when heated), waxy corn, and the colorful Indian/ornamental corns (red, blue, purple, black — rich in anthocyanin antioxidants). Maize is exceptionally nutritious — rich in carbohydrates, plant protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins (especially niacin, though it is bound and unavailable unless treated with alkali — the Native American nixtamalization process that produces hominy and masa for tortillas), vitamin A (yellow corn), and antioxidants (especially blue/purple corn). In Ayurvedic medicine, maize is considered light, dry, and cooling — recommended for weight loss, kapha dosha, and urinary conditions.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Full sun
Regular; heavy watering during tasseling and silking
Moderate (50-70%)
18-32°C
Deep fertile loam; pH 5.5-7.5
Heavy feeder; high nitrogen
🌐 Common Names
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Mexico (where it was domesticated from teosinte)
- 📏 Max height
- 1.5-3 m
- 📐 Spread
- 30-60 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Summer; male tassel on top, female silk on ears
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Yellow male tassel; pale green female silk turning brown
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Long sword-shaped bright green leaves
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Annual (1 season)
- 📈 Growth rate
- Fast — harvest in 80-120 days
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic; safe for humans and pets
- 🌱 Propagation
- Seeds (direct sow)
🛡️ Health & Safety
Non-toxic; safe for humans and pets
Common issues
- Fall armyworm (most serious pest in recent years — devastating to young plants)
- stem borer
- corn earworm
- aphids
- corn leaf aphid
- southern corn leaf blight
- northern corn leaf blight
- common rust
- common smut
- head smut
- maize streak virus (in Africa)
- lodging (falling over) from wind or poor roots
- bird damage (crows, parakeets eat ripening ears)
💡 Care tips
- Direct sow seeds 2-3 cm deep, 20-30 cm apart, in rows 60-75 cm apart, after soil has warmed to 15°C (maize needs warm soil to germinate — do not plant too early).
- In India, sow at the start of the monsoon (June-July for kharif crop) or in early spring (February-March for rabi/spring crop in irrigated areas).
- Plant in blocks (multiple short rows) rather than single long rows — maize is wind-pollinated and blocks ensure good pollination (single rows have poor pollination, resulting in ears with missing kernels).
- Plant in full sun in deep, fertile, well-draining loam enriched with compost or well-rotted manure.
- Maize is a heavy feeder — incorporate plenty of compost before planting and side-dress with nitrogen 30 and 60 days after sowing.
- Water heavily and regularly — maize needs the most water during tasseling, silking, and ear fill (50-80 days after sowing).
- Drought at this stage causes poor pollination and "missing kernels" in ears.
- Mulch heavily to retain moisture and feed soil life.
- The plant grows rapidly — 1-2 m in 50-70 days.
- Tassels emerge 50-70 days after sowing, silks emerge 5-10 days later, and ears are ready 18-25 days after silks appear (for sweet corn) or 30-45 days later (for dry grain).
- For sweet corn: harvest when silks turn brown and dry, kernels are plump and release a milky fluid when punctured (about 18-25 days after silking) — sweet corn is at peak sweetness for only 2-3 days, so check daily and harvest promptly.
- For dry grain: allow ears to fully dry on the stalk — when husks turn brown and dry, peel back and check that kernels are hard and dry.
- Cut ears and dry further in a warm, well-ventilated place for 1-2 weeks, then shell (remove kernels from cob) by hand or with a corn sheller.
- Dry grain to 12% moisture before storage.
- Store in airtight containers in a cool, dry place.
- Save seeds from open-pollinated varieties (not hybrids — hybrids do not come true from seed).
- Popular Indian varieties include HQPM-1, HQPM-5 (high-quality protein maize), Pusa HM-4, Prakash, NMH-1, and many hybrids from private seed companies.
- For home gardeners, sweet corn is one of the most rewarding crops to grow — but plant in blocks for good pollination, and harvest at peak ripeness for the best flavor.
