Many of the maize varieties grown in the United States and Canada are hybrids. Often the varieties have been genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate or to provide protection against natural pests. Glyphosate is an herbicide which kills all plants except those with genetic tolerance. This genetic tolerance is very rarely found in nature. [ citation needed]

Rouf Shah, Tajamul; Prasad, Kamlesh; Kumar, Pradyuman (April 4, 2016). "Maize - A potential source of human nutrition and health: A review". Cogent Food & Agriculture. 2 (1). doi: 10.1080/23311932.2016.1166995. S2CID 87844060.

Variants of mielie meal

I heard it's bad for young plants though, so you might want to ask someone more

World's tallest corn towers nearly 14 meters". Science News for Students. January 6, 2017 . Retrieved November 10, 2021. Lee, E.A.; Harper, V (2002). "Suppressor of Pericarp Pigmentation 1 (SPP1), a novel gene involved in phlobaphene accumulation in maize ( Zea mays L.) pericarps". Maydica. 47 (1): 51–58. INIST 13772300. how the tiny archaeological specimens of 3500–2700 BC could have been selected from a teosinte, and

Karl, J. R. (2007). "Jala Maize is Small" (PDF). Maize Genetics MNL. 89: e3. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2017 . Retrieved November 19, 2015. fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)". entnemdept.ufl.edu . Retrieved November 14, 2017. Increasingly, ethanol is being used at low concentrations (10% or less) as an additive in gasoline ( gasohol) for motor fuels to increase the octane rating, lower pollutants, and reduce petroleum use (what is nowadays also known as " biofuels" and has been generating an intense debate regarding the human beings' necessity of new sources of energy, on the one hand, and the need to maintain, in regions such as Latin America, the food habits and culture which has been the essence of civilizations such as the one originated in Mesoamerica; the entry, January 2008, of maize among the commercial agreements of NAFTA has increased this debate, considering the bad labor conditions of workers in the fields, and mainly the fact that NAFTA "opened the doors to the import of maize from the United States, where the farmers who grow it receive multimillion-dollar subsidies and other government supports. ... According to OXFAM UK, after NAFTA went into effect, the price of maize in Mexico fell 70% between 1994 and 2001. The number of farm jobs dropped as well: from 8.1 million in 1993 to 6.8 million in 2002. Many of those who found themselves without work were small-scale maize growers."). [157] However, introduction in the northern latitudes of the US of tropical maize for biofuels, and not for human or animal consumption, may potentially alleviate this. [ citation needed] Commodity a b "Before applying fungicides to corn: Stop! Look! Consider!". Integrated Crop Management. Iowa State University Extension . Retrieved July 24, 2021.

Please settle a dispute. Is sweet corn a vegetable or a grain? What is the difference? How about field corn? - eXtension". USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, New Technologies for Ag Extension project. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018 . Retrieved March 3, 2018. Corn Stalk Lodging" (PDF). Monsanto Imagine. October 2, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2009 . Retrieved February 23, 2009. Mapuches of south-central Chile cultivated maize along with quinoa and potatoes in pre-Hispanic times; however, potato was the staple food of most Mapuches, "specially in the southern and coastal [Mapuche] territories where maize did not reach maturity". [22] [23] Before the expansion of the Inca Empire maize was traded and transported as far south as 40°19' S in Melinquina, Lácar Department. [24] In that location maize remains were found inside pottery dated to 730±80BP and 920±60BP. Probably this maize was brought across the Andes from Chile. [24] The presence of maize in Guaitecas Archipelago (43°55' S), the southernmost outpost of pre-Hispanic agriculture, [25] is reported by early Spanish explorers. [26] However the Spanish may have misidentified the plant. [26] Marra, M.C.; Piggott, N.E.; Goodwin, B.K. (2012). "The impact of corn rootworm protected biotechnology traits in the United States". AgBioForum. pp.217–230. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016 . Retrieved October 6, 2013.Chodosh, Sara (July 8, 2021). "The bizarre botany that makes corn a fruit, a grain, and also (kind of) a vegetable". Popular Science . Retrieved February 24, 2022. Corn for Home Heat: A Green Idea That Never Quite Popped". March 2, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2015 . Retrieved July 7, 2017. Elongated mesocotyl1, a phytochrome-deficient mutant of maize". Brutnell Lab. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013 . Retrieved December 7, 2013. Dillehay, Tom D.; Pino Quivira, Mario; Bonzani, Renée; Silva, Claudia; Wallner, Johannes; Le Quesne, Carlos (2007). "Cultivated wetlands and emerging complexity in south-central Chile and long distance effects of climate change" (PDF). Antiquity. 81 (314): 949–960. doi: 10.1017/s0003598x00096034. S2CID 59480757. Maize reproduces sexually each year. This randomly selects half the genes from a given plant to propagate to the next generation, meaning that desirable traits found in the crop (like high yield or good nutrition) can be lost in subsequent generations unless certain techniques are used. [ citation needed]