Author
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Desjardins, Anne |
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Submitted to: Corn Dry Milling Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/2005 Publication Date: 6/2/2005 Citation: Desjardins, A.E. 2005. Early journeys of Zea mays [abstract]. 46th Annual Corn Dry Milling Conference. p. 4. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Every spring in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal, farmers plow their terraced fields and plant maize (Zea mays ssp. mays), an American crop plant. Although Nepalese farmers are convinced that their maize, or "makai", is indigenous to the Himalayas, several independent lines of evidence indicate that maize originated only in Mesoamerica by domestication of a wild Zea species. Molecular genetic studies have identified the teosinte species Z mays ssp. parviglumis as the likely ancestor of maize. Archaeological records and the few surviving documents chronicle a long history of the use of maize by indigenous peoples of the Americas, but not elsewhere. The explorer Columbus discovered maize in the Caribbean region in 1492 and introduced it into Spain by 1494. Other Spanish and Portuguese explorers of the 16th century continued to import a diversity of maize from the Americas to Europe. Indigenous historical records and the accounts of European travelers indicate that during the 16th century maize rapidly spread along the coast of Africa and along major trade routes of the Middle East, where maize often was named as variations of "grain of Mecca", the Muslim holy city in Saudi Arabia. Records of the Ming Dynasty in China support the overland introduction of maize from western regions of China by 1550-1570. The rapid spread of maize in Eurasia during the 16th and 17th centuries was facilitated by its prior adaptation to the latitudes and climates of the region and by the presence of long-established networks of overland trade. Maize cultivation initially did not displace the long-established and productive irrigated rice systems of Asia, but instead utilized marginal or new agricultural lands. The extraordinary diversity and versatility of maize contributed much to its present success as a crop in complex African and Asian agricultural systems with extreme variability in altitude, slope, rainfall, soil, and agronomic practices. The main challenge to maize research in Africa and Asia today is to increase the productivity and nutritional quality of an American crop plant that feeds many of the poorest human populations throughout the world. |
