Maize

Maize is commonly known as corn in some countries. The growing of corn first began in Mesoamerica and has since spread throughout the American continents. Today maize is the largest crop in the Americas. There has been much disagreement about the origin of maize in Mesoamerica. There are some reports that the Spanish first grew maize in southern Mexico. The domestication of maize has been dated back as far back as 12,000 years ago.

The United States produces the largest amount of maize throughout the world, but there are other countries that also produce high quantities of maize as well such as China, Brazil and South Africa. In 2003 there was six hundred metric tons of maize produced in the world. Maize can only be produced in areas that do not have extreme cold temperature, as it is a cold-intolerant crop.