Corn

Corn was first domesticated by

native peoples in Mexico about 10,000
years ago. Native Americans taught
European colonists to grow the
indigenous grains, and, since its
introduction into Europe by Christopher
Columbus and other explorers, corn has
spread to all areas of the world suitable to
its cultivation..
The corn plant is a
tall annual grass with a stout, erect, solid
stem. The large narrow leaves have wavy
margins and are spaced alternately on
opposite sides of the stem. Staminate (male) flowers are borne on the tassel terminating the main
axis of the stem. The pistillate (female) inflorescences, which mature to become the edible ears,
are spikes with a thickened axis, bearing paired spikelets in longitudinal rows; each row of paired
spikelets normally produces two rows of grain. Varieties of yellow and white corn are the most
popular as food, though there are varieties with red, blue, pink, and black kernels, often banded,
spotted, or striped. Each ear is enclosed by modified leaves called shucks or husks. Many industrial
varieties of corn are genetically modified for resistance to the herbicide glyphosate or to produce
proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to kill specific insect pests. In addition, some strains have
been genetically engineered for greater drought tolerance.
Although it is a major food in
many parts of the world, corn is inferior to
other cereals in nutritional value. Its
protein is of poor quality, and it is deficient
in niacin. Diets in which it predominates
often result in pellagra (niacin-deficiency
disease). Its gluten (elastic protein) is of
comparatively poor quality, and it is not
used to produce leavened
bread.Cornstarch can be broken down
into corn syrup, a common sweetener that
is generally less expensive than sucrose;
high-fructose corn syrup is used extensively in processed foods such as soft drinks and candies.
Stalks are made into paper and wallboard; husks are used as filling material; cobs are used directly
for fuel, to make charcoal, and in the preparation of industrial solvents. Corn grain is processed by
wet milling, in which the grain is soaked in a dilute solution of sulfurous acid; by dry milling, in
which the corn is exposed to a water spray or steam; and by fermentation, in which starches are
changed to sugars and yeast is employed to convert the sugars into alcohol. Corn husks also have
a long history of use in the folk arts for objects such as woven amulets and corn-husk
dolls.eparations.
Each maize plant is monoecious: that is, it has separate female and male parts.
The ear, or cob, is the female part of the plant; the silks near the top of the ear are really elongated
stigmas, each growing from an egg on the cob.

The tassel at the top of the plant are the male part of the plant that produce the pollen. The
tiny pollen grains are carried by wind to the silks, either of the same plant or a different plant,
where they travel down inside the silk to fertilize an egg, which will become a kernel. In maize,
the kernels are seeds, each containing a single embryo. These are the parts you would plant to grow
new maize plants.
The kernels (there can be around 400 - 1000 on each ear) are attached to a cob and enclosed
by layers of leaves. In the early part of the season, the whole cob could be eaten in its entirety (as
with baby corn) but later in the season the kernels become harder and are best eaten cooked.
Without human intervention (harvesting
and cooking!), the cob would eventually
fall to the ground and a new maize plant
would sprout from each kernel. However,
since the types of maize we currently eat
have been selected to have large kernels
and a big cob, the kernels would fall in a
heap and not have room to grow into a
healthy plant (see section on What is
domestication?). When farmers grow
maize, they plant kernels in rows, leaving
enough space for each kernel to develop
into a large, healthy plant. Maize can only
grow with human help, since it has been modified from its ancestral form by domestication.