Maarg Manthan · Topic 11.16

Maize (Corn): Growing Conditions, Production Pattern, International Trade

Geography › Agriculture and Crop Geography · Topic 11.16

Maize, or corn, is a coarse grain crop that serves as food, animal feed and industrial raw material. It grows in a wide range of climates but does best with warm weather of 21 to 27 °C, a frost-free season of at least 100 to 140 days, 50 to 100 cm of rain, and well-drained fertile loam. The United States is the largest producer, followed by China, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine and India. In India, it is grown in both kharif and rabi seasons, mainly in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and demand has risen for poultry feed and ethanol.

5 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · Agriculture and Crop Geography

At a Glance

Temperature 21 to 27 °C; frost-free
Rainfall 50 to 100 cm
World leader United States
India Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
Main uses Feed, starch, ethanol, food
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: Agriculture and Crop Geography

Where Does It Fit?

This topic follows wheat and rice and takes the third major cereal of the world, which is also a feed and fuel crop. Maize shows how a grain crop’s use shifts from food to industry as economies grow. Previous topic: Indica, japonica, javanica Top…">Rice: Growing Conditions, Varieties, Methods of Cultivation, Production Pattern, International Trade. Next topic: Barley: Growing Conditions, Production Pattern, International Trade.

What Are the Growing Conditions for Maize?

Factor	Requirement
Temperature	Warm, 21 to 27 °C; a frost-free growing season of 100 to 140 days; hot nights reduce yield
Rainfall	50 to 100 cm, well distributed; sensitive to drought at flowering and to waterlogging
Soil	Fertile, deep, well-drained loam rich in nitrogen; slightly acidic to neutral
Sunlight	Maize is a C4 plant that makes efficient use of bright sunshine
Seasons in India	Mainly kharif (June to October); rabi and spring maize in Bihar, Peninsular India and Punjab give higher yield

Maize is a versatile crop. It can be grown from the equator to about 50 degrees of latitude and up to 3,000 metres altitude, and is the highest-yielding cereal per hectare, because of its high yield potential.

How Is It Cultivated and Used?

Cultivation: seed sown in rows with a planter, fertilised with nitrogen, weeded, and harvested by hand or combine when the cobs dry. In North America, large mechanised farms in the Corn Belt grow maize in rotation with soybeans.
Varieties: hybrids and composites now dominate in India, with single-cross hybrids by public institutes and companies. Types include dent, flint, sweet corn and popcorn. Genetically modified maize is grown in the USA, Brazil and Argentina but is not approved for cultivation in India.
Uses: about half to two-thirds of the maize grown in India goes into poultry and livestock feed. The rest is used as food (roti, bhutta), starch, oil, sweeteners and, increasingly, ethanol. Globally, most maize is fed to animals, with a large share used for ethanol in the USA and Brazil.
Ethanol: India’s programme to blend ethanol in petrol to 20 per cent has raised the demand for maize, which has become a main feedstock after sugarcane, and pushed up the area and prices.

What Is the Production Pattern and Trade?

World: maize is the largest crop by weight, at over 1.2 billion tonnes a year, more than wheat or rice. The United States, China, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, the European Union and India are the leading producers.
Corn Belt: the American Midwest, from Iowa and Illinois to Nebraska and Indiana, grows about a third of the world’s maize on deep glacial and loess soils with summer rain, as in Glacial Depositional Landforms: Glacial Till, Moraines, Eskers, Outwash Plains, Drumlins.
India: production is about 35 to 40 million tonnes. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the main producing states. Yields are lower than in the USA.
Exporters: the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Ukraine. Importers include Mexico, Japan, the European Union, Vietnam, South Korea and China.
India’s trade: exports were small and modest, and rising feed and ethanol demand has tightened the supply, so India has also imported some maize in some years.

Maize is also a staple food in some regions: makki ki roti in Punjab, and maize porridge such as ugali or polenta in Africa and Italy. In Latin America it was domesticated in Mexico some nine thousand years ago and spread to the world after 1492; the crop remains central to Mexican food culture. Its by-products, such as corn syrup, oil and distillers’ grains, are used in food and feed. Heavy dependence on a few hybrids makes the crop vulnerable to pests like fall armyworm, which reached India in 2018. As an analytical point, the rise of maize in India shows a shift in diet and energy: poultry, dairy and ethanol now pull land away from food crops, which links to the discussion of land use in Land Use and Land Capability Classification. The figures are approximate and update each year.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Region US Corn Belt
Uses Feed and ethanol
Policy Ethanol blending

What Came Next?

The next topic describes barley: growing conditions, production pattern and trade. Next topic: Barley: Growing Conditions, Production Pattern, International Trade.

Key People and Terms

Corn Belt US maize-growing region
Coarse grain Maize, millets, barley
C4 plant Efficient in bright light
Hybrid First-generation cross
Ethanol blending Mixing ethanol with petrol
Feed Animal food

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

The United States is the top producer.
Maize is the largest crop by weight.
Most Indian maize goes into feed.
Karnataka is among the top states.
E20 blending raises maize demand.

Do Not Confuse With

Maize and corn The same crop, different names
Corn Belt and wheat belt Maize and soybean region versus wheat region
Ethanol from maize and from cane Two feedstocks for fuel

Memory Hook

Warm and frost-free, maize in rows: feed, starch, ethanol, flow.

Mains Angle

Questions ask for the change in uses of maize and links to energy. These points add depth.

Region Corn Belt and India
Use Feed and fuel
Trade-off Food versus fuel

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Discuss the geographical conditions for maize cultivation and examine how rising demand for feed and ethanol is changing its production pattern in India.”

How to Answer

Conditions Warmth, rain, soil.
Regions Corn Belt and Indian states.
Uses Feed and ethanol.
Impact Prices, land, imports.

GS Relevance

Prelims: maize conditions, US Corn Belt, Indian states, uses. GS Paper 1 and 3: crop geography and bioenergy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the growing conditions for maize?

Maize needs warm weather of 21 to 27 degrees Celsius, a frost-free growing period of at least 100 to 140 days, 50 to 100 centimetres of well-distributed rain, and deep, fertile, well-drained loamy soil. It is sensitive to drought at flowering and to waterlogging.

What is the Corn Belt?

The Corn Belt is the region of the American Midwest, including Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Indiana, where maize is grown on a large scale on fertile glacial and loess soils with warm summers and adequate rain. It grows about a third of the world's maize and often rotates it with soybeans.

Which states of India produce the most maize?

Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the main maize-producing states of India. Maize is grown mainly in the kharif season, with rabi maize in Bihar and the peninsula giving higher yields.

What are the main uses of maize?

Maize is used mostly as animal and poultry feed, which takes about half to two-thirds of Indian output, and also as food, starch, oil, sweeteners and, increasingly, ethanol for fuel. In the United States and Brazil, large shares of the crop are used to make ethanol.

Why has the demand for maize risen in India?

The demand has risen because of the growth of the poultry and dairy sectors that use maize as feed, and because of the programme to blend ethanol in petrol, in which maize is an important raw material. As a result the prices and area under maize have gone up in recent years.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 The United States is the largest producer of maize.

True

The Corn Belt is the main region.

2 Maize is mainly a rabi crop in India.

False

It is mainly grown in the kharif season.

3 Most of the maize produced in India is used as animal and poultry feed.