Maize information

Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays), known as corn in some countries, is a cereal grain that was domesticated in Mesoamerica and then spread throughout the American continents. Maize spread to the rest of the world after European contact with the Americas in the late 15th century and early 16th century.
The term maize derives from the Spanish form (maíz) of the indigenous Taino term for the plant, and is the form most commonly heard in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Canada and Australia, the usual term is corn, which originally referred to any grain (and still does in Britain), but which now refers exclusively to maize, having been shortened from the form "Indian corn".
Maize is the largest crop in all of the Americas (270 million metric tons annually in the U.S. alone). Hybrid maize is preferred by farmers over conventional varieties for its high grain yield, due to heterosis ("hybrid vigour"). While some maize varieties grow 7 metres (23 ft) tall at certain locations, commercial maize has been bred for a height of 2.5 metres (8 ft). Sweet corn is usually shorter than field-corn varieties. (...) more....

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