Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
European corn borer caterpillars (
Ostrinia nubilalis
) can damage corn crops. Symptoms: caterpillars
eat superficially of the leaves and male flower parts; later they dig into ears and stalks and overwinter
in the lower parts of the stalk. Early varieties are especially vulnerable, as is sweet corn. Treatment: re-
move tassels after flowering, apply
Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bt) insecticides. Prevention: remove entire
plants from the garden and compost well. Harvested ears may be infested with Mediterranean flour
moth (
Ephestia kuehniella
). Treatment: place fully dried ears in the freezer, store seed in sealed con-
tainers.
Bagged corn after hand pollination
CULTIVATION HISTORY
We are still in the dark about exactly how and where corn came to be domest-
icated and developed into the plant we know. Many authors name Central America's teosinte (
Zea
mexicana
) as corn's wild ancestor; their growth habits differ significantly, but a loose flower head
turning into corn's compact ear could be a spontaneous mutation. In Central America, corn has been
the most important grain crop for several millennia. The oldest finds are from southern Mexico circa
5000
BC
, and it seems to have reached South America at around the same time, with a second center of
corn diversity establishing itself in Peru. Corn was a holy plant to the ancient tribes of Central Amer-
ica, a gift of the gods and source of life (the indigenous name for the plant,
mays
, means “that which
sustains our lives”). Scouts from Columbus's expedition brought corn to Spain in 1493 and within 30
years it was being grown on a field scale in Andalusia. Documentation of corn cultivation dates back
to 1542 in the southern Alps (Carinthia, Austria). It spread throughout central Europe via the Middle
East, however. In some areas of Austria corn is still known as
Türkisch Korn
(Turkish grain), as corn's
origins were otherwise unknown when it was introduced there. Corn appeared as
Türkisch Korn
in Hi-
eronymus Bock's and Leonhard Fuchs's botanical works of the early 16th century. Corn was not
widely grown on a field scale in Europe until the 18th century.
