Maize, Weight : 850 Gm

Maize is the most widely distributed crops of the world. It is cultivated in tropics, sub-tropics and temperate regions unto 500 and from sea level to 4000 m. India occupies fifth place in average under maize in the world, the first four being US, Brazil, China and Mexico Respectively and ranks tenth in production. In Indian Agriculture, Maize occupies a prominent position and each part of the maize plant is put to one or the other use and nothing goes as waste. Among the cereal crops in India, maize with annual production of around 10 million tones covering 6 million hectares ranks fifth in area being next to rice, wheat, jower and bajra, fourth n production whereas in productivity it ranks at third position. Within India U.P., Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab are the maize producing states.

Maize is an important cereal in many developed and developing countries of the world. It is widely used for animal feed and industrial raw material in the developed countries where as the developing countries use it in general for feed. Maize as a crop has multiple uses but is chiefly grown for human and Livestock consumption. The seeds and the cobs are used as basic raw material in various industries. The seeds are processed and converted into needed preparations, flakes, grits and pops for human consumption. Maize acts as a source in the manufacture of starch, syrup, dextrose, oil, gelatin, lactic acid tec. Corn flour is used as a thickening agent in the preparation of many edibles like soups, sauces and custard powder.