Maize

Maize

Scientific name: Zea mays L.

Bangla/local name: ‘Bhutta’

Taxonomic position According to Cronquist (1988)

Botanical Description of Maize

 Habit : Annual large monoecious herb

 Root: Fiberous root system, originating from the stem tissue is called adventitious roots.  Roots grow laterally in the upper soil and then turn vertically downwards. As the plant grows, individual roots may reach a depth of 2.5 m in good soil.

Stem: Cylindrical, erect having distinct node and internodes.

Leaves:  Simple, sessile, long divided into two parts e.g. leaf sheath and leaf blade, multicostate parallel veined. Each leaf consists of leaf sheath, leaf blade, and collar. The collar is a distinct joint which marks the point of extension of leaf blade from the stem. The appearance of the collar indicates that a leaf is fully extended. The leaf is connected to the stem below the collar, where the leaf sheath is attached to the node. Leaf sheaths support the plant before and during elongation of internodes.

Inflorescence:  The maize plant is monoecious, bearing male flowers in the tassel and female flowers on the lateral ear shoots of the same plant. The male spikelets are arranged in terminal panicled like spike like racemose. The female spikelets are arranged in row on a thickened rachis envelope by many green spathes like bract; male spikelets has two flowers one of which is pedicillate and other is sessile.

Male flower (staminate flower)

Tassel- Approximately 30 days after sowing, when the stem is only 2 cm long and the plant just knee-high, the tassel is initiated. At this stage, the growing point switches from producing leaves to producing the terminal reproductive structure, the tassel.

Perianth: calyx and corolla are converted into lodicules.

Female flower (Pistillate flower): each spikelet has two flowers covered by palea. Female flower is zygomorphic, hypogynous and irregular.

Perianth: the calyx and corolla are converted into lodicules which is look like as scale.

Gynoecium: carpel one, placentation basal, ovary superior, style long silky, stigma feathery.

Fruit: caryopsis

Seed: endospermic

Figure: Grain of Corn

Economic Importance: Maize is used as a staple human food, as feed for live-stock and as a raw material for many industrial products. The foliaceous bracts are used as a wrapping for cigarettes and cheroots. The cob, stems and leaves can be fed to cattle.

Table1. Maize varieties developed by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI)