Today is Thanksgiving day in the USA. People everywhere should be thankful for the multiple of efforts with the amazing Zea mays. Those people in central Mexico several thousand years ago who selected and planted seed from the mutants in the wild plant Teosinte that held its seed instead of scattering it. And then those of that time that chose, and propagated the seed that with larger endosperms, and thus, more starch. We are thankful for the multiples of people that carried the seed throughout the Americas, allowing and selecting for mutants adapted to their environments and personal food desires.
Native Americans had already selected multiple corn varieties adapted to their local preferences by the time Europeans ‘discovered’ the American continents. Some carried the seed corn plant vigor expressed with the crossing of certain varieties. Multiple people experimented with ways of developing genetic purity through inbreeding and identifying specific crosses between corn inbreds that expanded the potential grain yield for multiple uses of the grain of this species. We are thankful for the multiples of people’s efforts during the past and that which continues today. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Comments are closed.
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About Corn JournalThe purpose of this blog is to share perspectives of the biology of corn, its seed and diseases in a mix of technical and not so technical terms with all who are interested in this major crop. With more technical references to any of the topics easily available on the web with a search of key words, the blog will rarely cite references but will attempt to be accurate. Comments are welcome but will be screened before publishing. Comments and questions directed to the author by emails are encouraged.
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