Taxonomy
Corn is a plant native to tropical America and belongs to the Gramineae family. It is an annual herbaceous and monocotyledonous plant. It has an erect and slightly branched stem. It is a monoecious plant, with unisex inflorescences, male flowers in terminal panicle and female in axillary inflorescences. It requires a lot of luminosity (heliophite plant) and high temperature, the optimum temperature for its development id between 20-30 ºC. It adapts well to a large number of soils but is sensitive to over watering, poor tolerance to cold and lack of water. The fruit is a grain called caryopsis, indehiscent and with the pericarp fused to the seed’s forehead.
Pests
The main pests of corn are: Agrotis sp, Ostrinia nubilalis, Sesamia nonagrioides, Helicoverpa armegera, Mythimna unipuncta, Rhopalosiphum padi and Tetranichus urticae.
Fungi diseases:
The main fungi diseases of corn are: Dickeya zeae), mancha café (Physoderma maydis, Peronosclerospora, Sclerospora, Sclerophthora, Puccinia sorghi, Puccinia polysora, Physopella zeae , Penicillium, Aspergillus, Gibberella, Fusarium, Nigrospora, Botryodiplodia, Hormodendrum and Stenocarpella.
Viral diseases
The main viral diseases of corn are: MCDV, MS and MBS.
Scientific name: Zea mays L.