THE HISTORY OF MAIZE. Maize was probably introduced to tropical Africa at more than one point and at different times. It is now Africa’s most important grain crop. History and Origin of Maize Chapter 2. In Western Occidental history, many a misnomer of maize has occurred. History of Maize 2. Maize is Zambia’s most important crop in terms of cultivation, production, consumption and … Corn, (Zea mays), also called Indian corn or maize, cereal plant of the grass family and its edible grain. ... Maize, in South Africa as in many countries across the world, is a main source of nutrition and the local market is considered to have a discerning taste when it comes down to their ‘mealie meel’ which many eat three times a day. The documented history of maize in Africa spans the 20th century, but our focus is the second half, when the establishment of formal planting breeding institutions on the continent resulted in the systematic release of improved open-pollinated maize varieties (IOPVs) and maize hybrids. 39-55 THE INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF MAIZE IN AFRICA By MARVIN P. MIRACLE ALTHOUGH maize is often listed as one of many food crops introduced in Africa by the Portuguese, how and when maize was brought to the continent In Andes its cultivation goes back to prehistoric time. Physiology of Maize Chapter 5 Maize Cudtivation Chapter Chapter Chapter (i) Climatic Requirements (11) Soils 6. Uses. Maize in the New World. We have defined three key historical phases. Teosinte (Zea mexicana) has been linked with the earliest maize in Mesoamerica and was first harvested as early as 10,000 years ago. The domesticated crop originated in the Americas and is one of the most widely distributed of the world’s food crops. Maize was domesticated in central Mexico around 1500 BC. In this book, McCann describes the history of maize cultivation from AD 1500 to the present, and explains why maize became Africa's dominant food crop within the … Moreover, understanding the history of maize cultivation will provide us with clues for predicting the future of maize in Africa. We have defined three key historical phases. Grains and cereals are South Africa's most important crops, occupying more than 60 percent of hectare under cultivation in the 1990s. Soil Preparation and Planting (i) Seed Preparation (ii) … This species probably originated in a wild state in the tropical South America. Corn is used as livestock feed, as human food, as biofuel, and as raw material in industry. Maize and Grace: History, Corn, and Africa’s New Landscapes, 1500–19991 JAMES McCANN Boston University Bemba, after leaving their country to work in urban areas in the south, say they find it It was then brought to the African continent around 1500 AD where it quickly spread to all corners of the continent in a relatively short period of 500 years. It is now Africa’s most important grain crop. History of maize While land plants have existed on earth for nearly 500 million years, maize in the form that we are accustomed to today has only existed for approximately 6000 years. Pap / ˈ p ɑː p /, also known as mieliepap (Afrikaans for maize porridge) in South Africa, is a traditional porridge/polenta made from mielie-meal (coarsely ground maize) and a staple food of the Bantu peoples of Southern Africa (the Afrikaans word pap … Before maize was introduced to Sub Saharan Africa, millet was the most widely eaten grain across the continent. Ugali (also known as ugali pap, nsima and nshima) is a type of maize flour porridge made in Africa. It was then brought to the African continent around 1500 AD where it quickly spread to all corners of the continent in a relatively short period of 500 years. In South Africa, maize was first introduced in 1655 and has since become one of the dominant food crops. Cultivation and Harvesting of Maize 3. Importance of Maize in Africa, Chapter 3. Nsima is sometimes made from other flours, such as millet or sorghum flour, and is sometimes mixed with cassava flour. Botany of Maize Chapter 4. Maize arrived in Africa after 1500 as part of the massive global ecological and demographic transformation that historian Alfred Crosby called the Columbian Exchange.13 The great irony, of course, is that the same Atlantic economy that wrenched captive labor from Africa to the pre-industrial economies of scale in the New World also provided the former continent with new cultigens (cassava, beans, potatoes, and maize) that reinvented Africas … Maize was domesticated in MesoAmerica, in the region that is now Mexico. Maize spread across the length and breadth of the Americas, and subsequently to Europe, Africa, and Asia. The history of maize and its domestication may be traced back some 8,000 years.