Maize
Also called: Corn · Topic: Major Crops of India: Distribution and Conditions · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "Agriculture"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Land Resources and Agriculture"
Meaning
Maize is a coarse cereal used for both food and fodder. It is a kharif crop. It needs temperatures of 21–27°C and does well on old alluvium, which is soil laid down by rivers long ago. In Bihar it is also grown in rabi. It covers about 3.6% of the cropped area. It is grown almost everywhere in India except Punjab and the east and north-east. Its yields are the highest among the coarse cereals. Demand for poultry feed and for ethanol, a fuel mixed with petrol under E20 blending, is pushing maize output up (verify current).
Example
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar are the top maize states. Maize is a rising crop in Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Don't confuse with
- Millets (jowar, bajra, ragi): these are coarse cereals too, but they are hardier dryland crops. Maize gives higher yields and is in rising demand for feed and fuel.