What Plant Is Corn? Understanding Corn's Plant Characteristics in One Article

In daily life, corn is a common food, and everyone has eaten corn, so what plant is corn? What are the cultivation techniques for corn?

1. What plant is corn?

Corn is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Zea in the grass family. Corn has many uses and can be eaten directly after boiling, used in cooking, used to make alcohol, used as feed, and so on. Corn is also called many different names in different places, such as yushushu, baogu, baomi, and so on.

Corn is an important grain crop and feed crop in our country, and its planting area and total output are second only to wheat and rice.

Corn is rich in fats, vitamins, trace elements, protein, and fiber, among other things. Eating corn often is very good for the body, and corn has always been called a longevity food.

2. Corn cultivation techniques

1. Variety selection

Because the natural conditions of corn planting areas in our country vary greatly, suitable varieties should be selected according to the local soil texture, climate, temperature, and so on.

2. Soil and temperature requirements

For spring-sown corn, the best sowing period is when the soil remains stable at 15°C within the upper 7.6cm. For summer-sown corn in North China, sow promptly after harvesting wheat or peas. The sowing depth, depending on soil moisture, is 2.5--10cm, with 5-6cm being most suitable.

3. Fertilization

Before sowing, apply 2000—3000kg of high-quality barnyard manure per mu as base fertilizer. At sowing, apply 4—5kg/mu of ammonium sulfate, 15—20kg/mu of superphosphate, and 2-3kg/mu of potassium chloride as seed fertilizer, and apply nitrogen fertilizer as topdressing at the jointing, booting, tasseling, and flowering and grain-filling stages. Apply 10-20kg/mu of nitrogen over the whole growth period.

During the corn growing period, sufficient watering must also be ensured. Generally, one batch of corn only needs to be watered 3-4 times.