Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays, pronounced /ˈmeɪz/; also known in most English speaking countries as corn), is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents. After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, maize spread to the rest of the world.
Maize is the most widely grown crop in the Americas (332 million metric tons annually in the United States alon...
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Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays, pronounced /ˈmeɪz/; also known in most English speaking countries as corn), is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents. After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, maize spread to the rest of the world.
Maize is the most widely grown crop in the Americas (332 million metric tons annually in the United States alone). Hybrid maize, because of its high grain yield as a result of heterosis ('hybrid vigor'), is preferred by farmers over conventional varieties. While some maize varieties grow up to 7 metres (23 ft) tall, most commercially grown maize has been bred for a standardized height of 2.5 metres (8 ft). Sweet corn is usually shorter than field-corn varieties.
The term maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taino word for the plant, maíz. This was the term used in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it is now it is usually called ...
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