Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure
3.4.
Production of major food grains. (USAID
/
FAS Circular WAP 12-05.)
surplus, after supplying the national market with some of the least expensive food in
the world.
On an international level, wheat is the grain most widely traded. The United States
is the major wheat-exporting country. It also supplies much of the coarse grain
(primarily maize) that enters into world trade. Rice appears to be of lesser importance
in international trade simply because most rice is consumed within the country in which
it is produced. A relatively smaller proportion of rice enters international trade, when
compared to maize and wheat.
3.2
MAIZE AND SORGHUM PRODUCTION
Maize
Latin Name: Zea mays
Other English Names: Corn, Indian maize, flint corn, mealies
2
Sorghum
Latin Name: Sorghum bicolor
Other English Names: Chicken corn, guinea corn, milo, sorgo
2
Maize is grown in most countries of the world. It is the third most widely planted
crop after wheat and rice. The leading maize-producing countries are the United States,
the Peoples Republic of China, and Brazil. There are large variations among the var-
ieties of maize. Visible differences in color, grain size, and grain type form the basis
for classification of the grain.
An ear of maize always has an even number of rows of seeds. This is because each
pair of rows is the result of a cell dividing in two.
