Corn

Corn is a truly remarkable plant. It grows in the heat of Africa and in the cool weather of Europe. Here, the plants grow to about 2.50 to 3 meters tall, but they can reach a height of up to 5 meters. Each plant grows from a single small kernel. Within a few months, it grows very large and produces one or two ears of corn.

Each cob contains around 400 kernels. So one corn kernel produces 400 to 800 new kernels. No other plant yields as much. The whole plant can be used, not just the kernels. That’s why farmers grow so much corn: it gives them an inexpensive way to feed and fatten a lot of livestock. 

Today, corn is the world’s third most important cereal crop, after wheat and rice. The plant originated in Mexico. There, people say that the first corn plant sprang from the grave of a beautiful young woman. Scientists believe that corn developed from the wild plant teosinte. A corn plant consists of roots, a stalk and leaves, as well as ears with corn silk and husks that protect the ears, and tassels at the top. Corn plants produce two kinds of flowers. The male flowers are called tassels. They grow at the tips of the stalks. Pollen forms in the tassels and is carried by the wind.

The female flowers are surrounded by several thick leaves. The long hairs are called styles. They catch the pollen. If pollination is successful, ears of corn develop, with kernels growing around them.

Corn is sown in late April or early May using special machinery. It can be grown in the same field for several years in a row.

Plants need lots of nutrients. Farmers therefore spread plenty of slurry on their fields, which contains these nutrients. Slurry is liquid manure. It is often produced by animals that are fed corn. The kernels are planted about 5 cm deep in the soil. A few weeks after sowing, the young plants appear. Farmers usually leave 75 cm between the rows. The plants are spaced about 15 cm apart in each row. Six to eight plants grow per square metre. Corn grows quite slowly during the first few weeks. But then it can grow quickly. When it is warm and there is enough rain, the plants reach an impressive height in a short time.

The plants reach maturity in September or October. Their leaves and stalks turn yellow. They are then ready to harvest. Much of the crop is made into silage maize. Silage maize is usually harvested while the plants are still green. Other farmers harvest only the kernels. They wait until the maize is fully ripe. Sometimes CCM is harvested, too. It is a particularly nutritious feed for cattle and pigs.

Farmers mainly use forage harvesters to harvest the crop. These machines have sharp cutting blades at the front. They can cut and chop several rows at once. The finely chopped maize is blown straight into a large trailer driving alongside the harvester. The trailer unloads the maize at a silage clamp. There, the chopped maize is spread out and compacted. This presses out the air. It is then covered with a tarpaulin. As little oxygen as possible should reach the plants, so the silage does not go mouldy. The maize then begins to ferment in the silo. This takes about three weeks. It can then be fed to animals.

Corn is also suitable for human consumption. We all know popcorn, which is made from popping corn. In some countries, corn is cooked into a porridge called polenta. Sweet corn is a tasty vegetable. Starch corn is used to produce starch, while ornamental corn produces colorful kernels. In recent years, corn has also been grown to produce biogas. The chopped corn is taken to biogas plants, where bacteria break down the plant material. This process takes about 30 days and produces mainly methane gas. The gas is extracted and burned in a combined heat and power plant, producing heat and electricity. The remains of the corn plants are used as fertilizer.

Maize is now grown in many fields. Intensive cultivation also brings risks and problems. Fields where maize is grown are heavily contaminated with pesticides and fertilisers. Large quantities of slurry are spread over the fields in particular. Components of the slurry can seep into groundwater. In some areas, it has become difficult to obtain drinking water that is not contaminated with residues. Maize always removes the same nutrients from the soil. Other plants cannot use these nutrients. Many small animals, such as earthworms, also cannot tolerate the slurry. Birds find little suitable food in maize fields. Wild boar, on the other hand, reproduce especially rapidly near maize fields because they find plenty of food there. The heavy machinery used to work the fields and harvest the maize compacts the soil.All images: Hamsterkiste