Continuing with the content on corn cultivation, today I am going to talk about the morphology and economy of corn, corn has a great variability in kernel color, texture, composition and appearance. It can be classified into different types according to: a) the constitution of the endosperm and the grain; b) the color of the grain; c) the environment in which it is grown; d) maturity, and e) its use. The most important types of corn are hard, dent, popped, sweet, floury, waxy and tunicate.
▶ Economically, the most important types of corn grown for grain or forage and silage fall into the three major categories of hard, dent, and mealy. A fourth type of corn that can be added to the above is protein quality corn (MPC) based on the o2 mutant obtained in the pursuit of improved protein quality.
▶ Credits: aanandaa – [Image of Public Domain]
Maize types of comparatively lesser importance as those used as food or feed, but with significant economic value added are: pop corn grown for its kernels to prepare snacks; sweet corn types grown to consume the green cobs; and waxy corn types.
The original maize cultivars were generally hard maize types. The kernels of this type of maize are round, hard and soft to the touch. The endosperm consists mostly of horny hard starch with only a small part of soft starch in the center of the kernel.
Hard corn germinates better than other types of corn, particularly in moist, cold soils. It is usually early maturing and dries more quickly once it has reached physiological maturity.
NOTE: Reference material.