30 Apr Varietal improvement in maize: development of single cross hybrids in India
भारत में एकल क्रॉस संकर के विकास के माध्यम से मक्का में किस्म सुधार Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most widely distributed crop of the world being grown in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions up to 500 and from sea level to more than 3000m under irrigated to semi-arid conditions. Being a versatile crop, it adapts easily to a wide range of production environments. In India, maize is the third most important cereal after rice and wheat that provides food, feed, fodder, and serves as a source of basic raw material for the number of industrial products,viz. starch, protein ,oil, alcoholic beverages, food sweeteners, cosmetics, bio-fuel, etc. No other cereal can be used in as many ways as maize. Virtually every part of the plant has an economic worth. The grain can be consumed as human food, fermented to produce a wide range of foods and beverages, fed to livestock, and used as an industrial input in the production of starch, oil, sugar, protein, cellulose, ethyl alcohol, etc. The leaves, stalks, and tassels can be fed to livestock, either green (in the form of fodder or silage) or dried (in the form of Stover). The roots can be used for mulching, incorporated into the soil to improve the physical structure, or dried and...