I INTRODUCTION
Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important cereal crop all over the world. It ranks third in world production after wheat and rice, however, based on productivity, this crop ranks first followed by rice and wheat. It is high yielding, easy to process, readily digestible and cheaper than other cereals and used as a basic raw material for the production of starch, oil, protein, alcoholic beverages, food sweeteners and more recently as biofuel.
The area under maize is spreading rapidly because of its productivity and adaptability to a wide range of environments. Globally, maize is known as queen of cereals because it has the highest genetic yield potential among the cereals. The adaptability of maize to diverse environments is unmatched
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In the state, maize is grown over an area of 13.22 lakh ha with a production of 34.75 lakh tones with an average productivity of 2629 kg ha-1 (Anon., 2013). The major maize growing districts of the states are Davanagere, Haveri, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Shivamogga, Bengaluru Rural, Bellary, Vijayapur, Chamarajnagar, Chitradurga, Kalaburgi, Dharwad, Gadag, Kolar and Mysuru. Area under maize is increasing rapidly in the state because of congenial environment, high yield and ease with which the crop is cultivated. Thus, there is scope to increase maize productivity in Karnataka to a global level of 49.20 q/ha (Anon., 2013).
In the tropical maize growing regions, a range of biotic stresses such as diseases, insect pests and weed Striga spp. were widely encountered. Among these stresses cultivation of high yielding hybrids were threatened by fungal diseases. There were about 112 diseases infects this crop. Out of which 61 have been reported in India. These include seedling blight, stalk rots, foliar diseases, ear rots and downy mildews (Renfro 1970; Payak and Sharma, 1982). There were ten downy mildew pathogens reported on maize in different parts of the world (Smith and Renfro, 1999; Spencer and Dick,
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A survey conducted in Karnataka revealed that the incidence of disease ranged from 10 to 90 per cent and yield loss upto 30-40 per cent (Krishnappa et al., 1995).
Sorghum downy mildew can be controlled through host resistance, cultural practices, and chemical controls. Approaching disease control in an integrated manner greatly enhances the probability of success. With the integrated approach, the development of genetically resistant maize inbreds to be used for the development of resistant hybrids will provide efficient control of the disease in maize. Studies on the genetics of downy mildew resistance suggests that, it has a complex and polygenic nature and additive effects predominantly contribute to the resistance (Geetha and Jayaraman, 2002, Yen et al., 2004; Nair et al., 2004 and 2005). Keeping in view of this the present investigation was carried out to understand the genetics of resistance and develop an integrated method to manage the disease to combat losses due to disease with the following
In the first third of the book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, he draws the reader in by bringing to light many interesting facts about corn that most individuals may not realize. He states that the majority of food that people consume contains corn. Although people of Mexican descent are usually referred to as the “corn people”, Americans have now surpassed them in the amount of corn consumed in their daily diet. Corn is consumed in a variety of forms and many of the animals that are eaten by Americans, such as the chicken, pig, turkey, and lamb are fed corn. When a person eats these animals, he or she is essentially increasing their corn intake, and in most cases without even realizing it. The corn crop has spread vastly and is massively produced because it is efficient. Unlike other crop plants, corn can survive in harsh weather conditions and it is light and easy to transport. Maize is also self-fertilized and pollinated by wind, and it has evolved over time and continues to evolve, into new forms and new uses.
Corn, or maize, plays a vital role in many areas of the world today, and each location views and handles corn in a different way. How they manage corn can show small details about the area and culture as a whole. Not only is corn a staple today, it also had a huge presence in the ancient Native American’s lives; corn is sometimes revered as a deity and other times as a gift to the people from the Creator or a hero of the culture.
Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips had not traveled west across the Atlantic. Some of the New World crops that hav...
One of the most prominent crops in the GMO industry is Bt corn. The Bt pesticide stands for Bacillus Thuringiensis. Scientists transferred the Bt gene into the corn to create a crop that produces its own pesticides. As the corn matures, it grows stronger poi...
"Unstoppable plant diseases" do not threaten our world. Crop pestilences are nothing new and have existed all-throughout the thousands of years that humans have grown their own food. In fact, ancient agrarians had it even harder than we do today because they were completely reliant upon rainfall, as they did not have advanced irrigation systems.
There were many arbitrary causes of the Irish potato famine, one of which was a fungus, Phytophthora infestans, which was accidentally transferred to Ireland from Mexico. Since the fungus was airborne it was virtually impossible to stop, and it wiped out almost all of Irelands potato crop in just a few years. Specifically, this fungus c...
Schumann, Gail L., and Cleora J. D'Arcy. Hungry Planet: Stories of Plant Diseases. St. Paul: American Phytopathological Society, 2012. Print.
Given the amount of resources that the world as a whole has access to why use corn as a source of fuel? Some would say that countries, such as the United States have an overabundance of food produce. Logically, those countries that have an over surplus of food MUST have enough to put a dent into the rapidly increasing costs of oil and gasoline. Unfortunately, that is a misconception. In order to produce enough corn to fuel the global economy it is important to analyze what that actually means for farmers and the government, not to mention the actual food supply. In order to produce corn ethanol, we must first grow an abundance of corn. Simple right? Wrong, corn is very draining on the soil it is grown, which, in short, means that whomever is growing the corn would have to rotate the corn plantation with something that will restore the nutrients of the soil. Unfortunately, that takes both time and money to do. The task would cal...
Corn is a high commodity in the U.S; our ham, eggs and pancakes for breakfast, California BLT at lunch, or double cheese hamburger for dinner were all produced with U.S. Cor...
With the rapid growth of our global population pouring into the next millennium, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world. That is unless we call for a revolution on the global scale. The Green Revolution which already sprouted in the early part of the century only need to add a bit more momentum and we will see a bright future for the human race, a future without hunger and starvation ¡V hopefully.It is becoming increasingly difficult for the planet to support its overwhelming population. And since the amount of arable land available is becoming scarce, we must seek ways to dramatically improve crop yields of existing cropland.
One of the most successfully crops was traded from the Americas to Europe. Once corn arrived in Europe it was used as animal fodder, but the value of corn as human food proved itself. Corn has been one of the stimulants to population growth in the ‘old’ world. It helped to improve diets by providing much needed nutrition and calories.
Throughout the history of the human race there have been a great number of crops that were discovered, planted, and over time domesticated. Wheat in the Middle East, rice in Asia, and rye in Eastern Europe are all some of today’s staple crops that feed millions every day. Crops like these make up over 50% of the world’s total food supply. However, the third most eaten crop in the world is maize, or corn, which provides 21% of human nutrition. Today maize feeds millions across the world, but its history is different from the others.
2. Cook, A. A. 1975. Diseases of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits and Nuts, Hafner Press,
Barley is a very important grain in the world today. It is very versatile in every way. It has been well adapted through its evolution. It has a very mysterious and much debated beginning. Now however, barely has become well known and so have its many uses. Barley, which is of the genus Hordeum, is a cereal that belongs to the grass family Poaceae. Barley has many different varieties. The most common is Hordeum vulgare, which is a six-rowed type of barley that has a spike notched on opposite sides with three spikelets on each notch. At each notch there is a flower or floret that later develops into a kernel. Hordeum distichum is a two-rowed type of barley that has central florets producing kernels and it has lateral florets that are sterile. Lastly there is Hordeum irregulare which has fertile central florets and different arrangements of sterile and fertile lateral florets. This is the least cultivated species of the three main forms (2).
Genetic engineering enhances plant resistance to drought, salinity, disease, pests and herbicides. The aim is to try and enhance the growth, productivity, nutrient value, and chemical composition of the plants. Chemicals are constantly being developed or improved to enhance the competitiveness and adaptability of crops, and to kill the parasites and weeds which plague the agricultural sector. . This however is not always good as the plant and the pests then become resistant to these new chemicals defeating the purpose of it being used. The new chemicals which are produced to kill these strong pests and weeds may be more harmful to other plants and remove nutrients within the soil in turn reducing the yield of agricultural crops. The benefits of these characteristics are seen in Argentina according to Pelletier (2010) as they use glyphosphate resistant soybean which allowed the comeback of this crop, as the so...