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Locro (from the Quechua ruqru ) is a hearty thick squash stew , associated with Native Andean civilizations , and popular along the Andes mountain range. It is one of the national dishes of Peru , Bolivia , Ecuador , Chile , Paraguay , Northwest Argentina and Southwestern Colombia .

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104-585: The dish is a classic squash, corn , beans , and potato or pumpkin soup well known along the South American Andes. In some regions, locro is made using a specific kind of potato called papa chola , which has a unique taste and is difficult to find outside of its home region. The defining ingredients are squash, corn, some form of meat (usually beef, but sometimes beef jerky or chorizo ), and vegetables. Other ingredients vary widely and typically include onions , beans, squash, or pumpkin. It

208-550: A Malbec vineyard at almost 1500 m (5,000 feet) elevation in the Gualtallary sub-district of Tupungato , the Adrianna Vineyard . He was also the first to develop a clonal selection of Argentine Malbec. High-altitude Mendoza has attracted many notable foreign winemakers, such as Paul Hobbs, Michel Rolland , Herve Joyaux-Fabre, Roberto Cipresso and Alberto Antonini . Today, there are several Malbecs from

312-748: A budget-priced La Moneda Reserve Malbec from the UK supermarket chain Asda won the Platinum Best in Show prize in a blind tasting at the Decanter World Wine awards. The grapevine was introduced to Australia in the 19th century and was mostly a bulk wine producing grape. The particular clones planted in Australia were of poor quality and highly susceptible to coulure, frost and downy mildew. By

416-814: A conventional breeding program to provide optimized strains. The program began in the 1980s. Hybrid seeds are distributed in Africa by its Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project. Tropical landraces remain an important and underused source of resistance alleles – both those for disease and for herbivores . Such alleles can then be introgressed into productive varieties. Rare alleles for this purpose were discovered by Dao and Sood, both in 2014. In 2018, Zerka Rashid of CIMMYT used its association mapping panel, developed for tropical drought tolerance traits. to find new genomic regions providing sorghum downy mildew resistance , and to further characterize known differentially methylated regions . Genetically modified maize

520-403: A corn head (with points and snap rolls instead of a reel) does not cut the stalk; it simply pulls the stalk down. The stalk continues downward and is crumpled into a mangled pile on the ground, where it usually is left to become organic matter for the soil . The ear of maize is too large to pass between slots in a plate as the snap rolls pull the stalk away, leaving only the ear and husk to enter

624-524: A few years ago in the area. It was not until 1993 that the Viu Manent vineyard became the first Chilean winery to produce, bottle and market 100% Malbec wines produced in the country, from the vineyard they had for more than 100 years in the city of Santa Cruz in the Colchagua where this variety was found. In 2016, a hundred-year-old Malbec plantation was also discovered in the city of San Rosendo , in

728-408: A large cob. Yellow maizes derive their color from carotenoids ; red maizes are colored by anthocyanins and phlobaphenes ; and orange and green varieties may contain combinations of these pigments. Maize has short-day photoperiodism , meaning that it requires nights of a certain length to flower. Flowering further requires enough warm days above 10 °C (50 °F). The control of flowering

832-499: A measure of protection against a wide range of pests. Because of its shallow roots, maize is susceptible to droughts, intolerant of nutrient-deficient soils, and prone to being uprooted by severe winds. Maize is diploid with 20 chromosomes . 83% of allelic variation within the genome derives from its teosinte ancestors, primarily due to the freedom of Zea species to outcross . Barbara McClintock used maize to validate her transposon theory of "jumping genes", for which she won

936-419: A particular plum-like flavor component which adds complexity to claret blends. Sometimes, especially in its traditional growing regions, it is not trellised but is instead cultivated as bush vines (the goblet system). In such cases, it is sometimes kept to a relatively low yield of about 6 tons per hectare. Wines produced using this growing method are rich, dark, and juicy. As a varietal, Malbec creates

1040-638: A place but a condition, a savage rather than a civilized grain". International groups such as the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International consider maize the preferred common name. The word maize is used by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization , and in the names of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center of Mexico, the Indian Institute of Maize Research,

1144-601: A plant that uses C 4 carbon fixation , maize is a considerably more water-efficient crop than plants that use C 3 carbon fixation such as alfalfa and soybeans . Maize is most sensitive to drought at the time of silk emergence, when the flowers are ready for pollination. In the United States, a good harvest was traditionally predicted if the maize was "knee-high by the Fourth of July ", although modern hybrids generally exceed this growth rate. Maize used for silage

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1248-584: A plusher texture and riper tannins. The wines tend to have juicy fruit notes with violet aromas. In very warm regions of Argentina and Australia, the acidity of the wine may be too low which can cause a wine to taste flabby and weak. Malbec grown in Washington state tends to be characterized by dark fruit notes and herbal aromas. An exception to this in Washington State is Malbec grown in the high desert Lake Chelan AVA terroir. Malbec grapes grown in

1352-499: A rather inky red (or violet), intense wine, so it is also commonly used in blends, such as with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to create the red French Bordeaux claret blend. The grape is blended with Cabernet Franc and Gamay in some regions such as the Loire Valley . Other wine regions use the grape to produce Bordeaux-style blends . The varietal is sensitive to frost and has a propensity for shattering or coulure . Malbec

1456-497: A regional and traditional dish to being one of Argentina's national dishes to celebrate patriotic dates: on the two Argentine patriotic dates – May 25, date of the de facto or concrete independence of Argentina since 1810, and July 9, the date on which, in 1816 in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina's independence was explicitly proclaimed. The breakfast of chocolate infusions with milk and pastries given in schools on May 25 and July 9

1560-597: A significant portion of Malbec vines in Bordeaux, allowing many growers a chance to start anew with different varieties. By 1968, plantings in the Libournais were down to 4,900 hectares (12,100 acres) and fell further to 1,400 hectares (3,460 acres) by 2000. While Malbec has since become a popular component of New World meritages or Bordeaux blends, and although it is still a permitted variety in all major wine regions of Bordeaux , its presence in Bordeaux has dwindled;

1664-590: A variety of soil types but in the limestone based soils of Cahors it seems to produce its most dark and tannic manifestation. There are distinct ampelographical differences in the clones of Malbec found in France and in Argentina, with Argentine Malbec tending to have smaller berries. A comparative research study conducted by the Catena Institute of Wine and University of California, Davis , examined

1768-473: A variety of the southwestern French grape Abouriou . In Cahors, the Malbec grape is referred to as Auxerrois or Côt Noir; this is sometimes confused with Auxerrois blanc , which is an entirely different variety. The Malbec grape is a thin-skinned grape and needs more sun and heat than either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot to mature. It ripens mid-season and can bring very deep color, ample tannin , and

1872-640: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Chilean cuisine –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Ecuadorian cuisine -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Peruvian cuisine -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Paraguayan cuisine -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Maize Maize / m eɪ z / ( Zea mays ), also known as corn in North American English ,

1976-592: Is a major pest of maize in Asia. Malbec Malbec ( French pronunciation: [malbɛk] ) is a purple grape variety used in making red wine . The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins , and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine . In France, plantations of Malbec are now found primarily in Cahors in South West France , though

2080-426: Is a problem in Asia. Some fungal diseases of maize produce potentially dangerous mycotoxins such as aflatoxin . In the United States, major diseases include tar spot , bacterial leaf streak , gray leaf spot , northern corn leaf blight, and Goss's wilt ; in 2022, the most damaging disease was tar spot, which caused losses of 116.8 million bushels . Maize sustains a billion dollars' worth of losses annually in

2184-674: Is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain . It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte . Native Americans planted it alongside beans and squashes in the Three Sisters polyculture . The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen , and female inflorescences called ears . The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern commercial varieties, these are usually yellow or white; other varieties can be of many colors. Maize relies on humans for its propagation. Since

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2288-628: Is also permitted in the Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) of Côtes du Brulhois . In Le Midi region of the Languedoc , it is permitted (but rarely grown) in the AOC regions of Cabardès and Côtes de Malepère . There is a small amount of Malbec grown in the middle Loire Valley and permitted in the AOCs of Anjou , Coteaux du Loir , Touraine and the sparkling wine AOC of Saumur where it

2392-749: Is also prepared on the basis of cassava. Although the Argentine locro has Indo-American origins, its preparation in Argentina for at least three centuries synthesizes the European gastronomic contributions: for example, pork, chorizos, tripe and numerous seasonings have been contributed by the Europeans (especially by the Spanish). There are several classic types of locro: corn, beans, cassava and wheat, although an expert cook can make an excellent synthesis of two or more of these types of locro to include all

2496-604: Is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Gamay. Still, as elsewhere in France, Malbec is losing acreage to other varieties—most notably Cabernet Franc in the Loire. Though the grape was historically a major planting in Bordeaux , providing color and fruit to its blends , in the 20th century it started to lose ground to Merlot and Cabernet Franc . This was due, in part, to its vulnerabilities to so many different vine ailments (coulure, downy mildew, frost). The severe 1956 frost wiped out

2600-408: Is composed of transposons , contains 32,540 genes. Much of it has been duplicated and reshuffled by helitrons , a group of transposable elements within maize's DNA. Maize breeding in prehistory resulted in large plants producing large ears. Modern breeding began with individuals who selected highly productive varieties in their fields and then sold seed to other farmers. James L. Reid was one of

2704-537: Is cultivated throughout the world; a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. In 2020, world production was 1.1 billion tonnes. It is afflicted by many pests and diseases ; two major insect pests, European corn borer and corn rootworms , have each caused annual losses of a billion dollars in the US. Modern plant breeding has greatly increased output and qualities such as nutrition, drought tolerance, and tolerance of pests and diseases. Much maize

2808-475: Is granitic, which causes the malbec of the area to contain a special minerality, in addition the influence of the coast and the mountains give acidity and freshness to the Chilean malbec, these conditions cause an important difference in its par Also, Chilean Malbec tends to have a fresher and more fruity flavor, because it is not harvested as ripe as other Malbec productions in the world. Prior to Prohibition in

2912-414: Is harvested while the plant is green and the fruit immature. Sweet corn is harvested in the "milk stage", after pollination but before starch has formed, between late summer and early to mid-autumn. Field maize is left in the field until very late in the autumn to thoroughly dry the grain, and may, in fact, sometimes not be harvested until winter or even early spring. The importance of sufficient soil moisture

3016-513: Is mainly eaten in winter. In Ecuador, a variant known as yahuarlocro is popular. It incorporates lamb entrails and lamb blood into the recipe. In Argentina its consumption has spread from the Northwest and Cuyo to the rest of the country. In the Argentine province of Neuquén, in addition to locro made with corn, a kind of locro is prepared with peas, and in the Northeast of Argentina locro

3120-423: Is named after a Hungarian peasant who first spread the grape variety throughout France. French ampelographer and viticulturalist Pierre Galet notes, however, that most evidence suggests that Côt was the variety's original name and that it probably originated in northern Burgundy . Due to similarities in synonyms, Malbec is often confused with other varieties of grape. Malbec argenté is not Malbec, but rather

3224-533: Is now genetically modified . As a food, maize is used to make a wide variety of dishes including Mexican tortillas and tamales , Italian polenta , and American hominy grits . Maize protein is low in some essential amino acids , and the niacin it contains only becomes available if freed by alkali treatment . In Mesoamerica, maize is deified as a maize god and depicted in sculptures. Maize requires human intervention for it to propagate. The kernels of its naturally-propagating teosinte ancestor fall off

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3328-691: Is planted in the Lake Chelan AVA where it has consistently produced wines of exceptional quality. Other AVAs in the United States producing Malbec include the Ohio appellation of Grand River Valley, the New York appellations of North Fork of Long Island and Finger Lakes ; the Oregon appellations of Applegate Valley , Rogue Valley , Southern Oregon , Umpqua Valley and Willamette Valley ;

3432-468: Is set genetically; the physiological mechanism involves the phytochrome system. Tropical cultivars can be problematic if grown in higher latitudes, as the longer days can make the plants grow tall instead of setting seed before winter comes. On the other hand, growing tall rapidly could be convenient for producing biofuel. Immature maize shoots accumulate a powerful antibiotic substance, 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one ( DIMBOA ), which provides

3536-498: Is shown in many parts of Africa, where periodic drought regularly causes maize crop failure and consequent famine . Although it is grown mainly in wet, hot climates, it can thrive in cold, hot, dry or wet conditions, meaning that it is an extremely versatile crop. Maize was planted by the Native Americans in small hills of soil, in the polyculture system called the Three Sisters . Maize provided support for beans ;

3640-557: Is the domesticated variant of the four species of teosintes , which are its crop wild relatives . The teosinte origin theory was proposed by the Russian botanist Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov in 1931, and the American Nobel Prize -winner George Beadle in 1932. The two plants have dissimilar appearance, maize having a single tall stalk with multiple leaves and teosinte being a short, bushy plant. The difference between

3744-405: Is the leaf most closely associated with a particular developing ear. This leaf and those above it contribute over three quarters of the carbohydrate ( starch ) that fills the grain. The grains are usually yellow or white in modern varieties; other varieties have orange, red, brown, blue , purple , or black grains. They are arranged in 8 to 32 rows around the cob; there can be up to 1200 grains on

3848-447: Is usually traditional, as opposed to the also traditional mate cocido , which is usually given during most of each year in public schools, military barracks and regiments, etc., accompanied by pastelitos criollos . Eventually, there is the custom of inviting guests with small casseroles of locro at wedding celebrations. On cold days, adults have as an excellent companion to a hot locro a good red wine such as Argentine malbec , and if

3952-428: Is very susceptible to various grape diseases and viticultural hazards—most notably frost , coulure , downy mildew , and rot— but the development of new clones and vineyard management techniques have helped control some of these potential problems. When it is not afflicted with these various ailments, particularly coulure, it does have the potential to produce high yields. Malbec seems to be able to produce well in

4056-737: The Appellation Controlée regulations for Cahors require a minimum content of 70%. Introduced to Argentina by French agricultural engineer Michel Pouget in 1868, Malbec is now widely planted in Argentina. Grapes from this region produce softer, less tannic-driven wines than those from Cahors. There were once 50,000 hectares planted with Malbec in Argentina; now there are 25,000 hectares in Mendoza alone, in addition to production in La Rioja , Salta , San Juan , Catamarca and Buenos Aires . Chile has 2,361 hectares planted with Malbec,

4160-482: The Baja California region of Mexico . At one point Malbec was grown in 30 different departments of France , a legacy that is still present in the list of local synonyms for the variety, which easily surpasses 1000 names. In recent times, however, the popularity of the variety has been steadily declining with a 2000 census reporting only 15,000 acres (6,100 hectares) of the vine, which are mostly consigned to

4264-612: The Balsas River valley in Mexico's southwestern highlands, as the crop wild relative genetically most similar to modern maize. The middle part of the short Balsas River valley is the likely location of early domestication. Stone milling tools with maize residue have been found in an 8,700 year old layer of deposits in a cave not far from Iguala, Guerrero . Doebley and colleagues showed in 2002 that maize had been domesticated only once, about 9,000 years ago, and then spread throughout

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4368-761: The Biobío Region , which was brought to the area by French settlers at the end of the 19th century, which had also been blended with other vines from the area. Currently, the largest amount of Malbec production in Chile is located in the Maule Region , however there are also important plantations of the strain in the Biobío regions and in the Colchagua Valley area. The Terroir of the Maule Region

4472-705: The Columbian exchange , it has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat and rice . Much maize is used for animal feed , whether as grain or as the whole plant, which can either be baled or made into the more palatable silage . Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are grown for human consumption, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, for uses such as cornmeal or masa , corn starch , corn syrup , pressing into corn oil , alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey , and as chemical feedstocks including ethanol and other biofuels . Maize

4576-1008: The Idaho appellation of the Snake River Valley ; the Texas appellations of Texas High Plains and Texas Hill Country ; the Virginia appellations of Monticello and North Fork of Roanoke ; the North Carolina appellation of the Yadkin Valley ; the Michigan appellations of the Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau Peninsula ; the New Jersey appellation of the Outer Coastal Plain and

4680-566: The Uco Valley . These districts are located in the foothills of the Andes mountains between 800 m and 1500 m elevation (2,800 to 5,000 feet). Argentine vintner Nicolás Catena Zapata has been widely credited for elevating the status of Argentine Malbec and the Mendoza region through serious experimentation into the effects of high altitude. In 1994, he was the first to plant

4784-427: The phylloxera epidemic . Argentine Malbec wine is characterized by its deep color and intense fruity flavors with a velvety texture. While they lack the tannic structure of French Malbecs, being more plush in texture, Argentine Malbecs have shown aging potential similar to their French counterparts. Argentina's most highly rated Malbec wines originate from Mendoza 's high altitude wine regions of Luján de Cuyo and

4888-493: The "light" locro prepared with the minimum of ingredients and with a thick sticky consistency. A gastronomic variety close to huaschalocro is mote . It is also called pulsudo in Argentina to the locro that besides being substantial and full of calories is very spicy, like the locro with cumbarí bell pepper as it happens in certain zones of the Argentine Northwest and especially in certain zones of

4992-607: The 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine . Maize remains an important model organism for genetics and developmental biology . The MADS-box motif is involved in the development of maize flowers. The Maize Genetics and Genomics Database is funded by the US Department of Agriculture to support maize research. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center maintains a large collection of maize accessions tested and cataloged for insect resistance. In 2005,

5096-662: The Americas. Maize pollen dated to 7,300 years ago from San Andres, Tabasco has been found on the Caribbean coast. A primitive corn was being grown in southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America 7,000 years ago. Archaeological remains of early maize ears, found at Guila Naquitz Cave in the Oaxaca Valley , are roughly 6,250 years old; the oldest ears from caves near Tehuacan , Puebla, are 5,450 years old. Around 4,500 years ago, maize began to spread to

5200-494: The Argentine Northwest in Argentina pampeana, litoral, cuyana, etcetera; on the anniversary of the Revolution of May, that is to say on May 25, 1910, practically (although no legislation is known in this respect) locro was made official as national food in the two main patriotic dates. This Argentine cuisine –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Bolivian cuisine -related article

5304-487: The Argentine province of La Rioja . Locro casserole is food with many calories and nutrients and is very suitable for consumption during winters or in cold areas. It is traditionally consumed on a massive scale on May 1 and May 25, the day that commemorates the May Revolution and the formation of the first Argentine patriotic government, which was established on May 25, 1810. For this reason, it has gone from being

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5408-399: The Argentine wine industry shifted its focus to premium wine production for export. As the Argentine wine industry discovered the unique quality of wine that could be made from the grape, Malbec arose to greater prominence and is today the most widely planted red grape variety in the country. As of 2003 there were over 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of Malbec in Argentina. The Mendoza region is

5512-479: The B-vitamin niacin , the lack of which caused pellagra . Once alkali processing and dietary variety were understood and applied, pellagra disappeared in the developed world. The development of high- lysine maize and the promotion of a more balanced diet have contributed to its demise. Pellagra still exists in food-poor areas and refugee camps where people survive on donated maize. The name maize derives from

5616-476: The French agronomist Michel Pouget to bring grapevine cuttings from France to Argentina. Among the vines that Pouget brought were the very first Malbec vines to be planted in the country. During the economic turmoil of the 20th century, some plantings of Malbec were pulled out to make way for the jug wine producing varieties of Criolla Grande and Cereza . The grape was rediscovered in the late 20th century as

5720-463: The French style of Malbec common in the Libournais (Bordeaux region) as a "rustic" version of Merlot, softer in tannins and lower in acidity with blackberry fruit in its youth. The Malbec of the Cahors region is much more tannic with more phenolic compounds that contribute to its dark color. Oz Clarke describes Cahors' Malbec as dark purple in color with aromas of damsons , tobacco, garlic, and raisin . In Argentina, Malbec becomes softer with

5824-709: The Maize Association of Australia, the National Maize Association of Nigeria, the National Maize Association of Ghana, the Maize Trust of South Africa, and the Zimbabwe Seed Maize Association. Maize is a tall annual grass with a single stem, ranging in height from 1.2 m (4 ft) to 4 m (13 ft). The long narrow leaves arise from the nodes or joints, alternately on opposite sides on

5928-586: The Spanish form maíz of the Taíno mahis . The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus used the common name maize as the species epithet in Zea mays . The name maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as a common name because it refers specifically to this one grain, unlike corn , which has a complex variety of meanings that vary by context and geographic region. Most countries primarily use

6032-562: The US National Science Foundation , Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Energy formed a consortium to sequence the maize genome . The resulting DNA sequence data was deposited immediately into GenBank , a public repository for genome-sequence data. Sequencing of the maize genome was completed in 2008. In 2009, the consortium published results of its sequencing effort. The genome, 85% of which

6136-479: The US from each of two major insect pests , namely the European corn borer or ECB ( Ostrinia nubilalis ) and corn rootworms ( Diabrotica spp ) western corn rootworm , northern corn rootworm , and southern corn rootworm . Another serious pest is the fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda ). The maize weevil ( Sitophilus zeamais ) is a serious pest of stored grain. The Northern armyworm, Oriental armyworm or Rice ear-cutting caterpillar ( Mythimna separata )

6240-420: The United States , Malbec was a significant variety in California used mainly for blended bulk wine production. After Prohibition, the grape was a minor variety until it experienced a surge of interest as a component of " Meritage " Bordeaux-style blends in the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2003, plantings of Malbec in California increased from 404 hectares (1,000 acres) to more than 2,830 hectares (7000 acres). While

6344-1129: The appearance of Californian varietal Malbec is increasing, the grape is still most widely used for blending. In California, the American Viticultural Areas (AVA) with the most plantings of Malbec include Napa Valley , Alexander Valley , Paso Robles and Sonoma Valley . Other regions in California with some plantings of Malbec include Livermore Valley , Atlas Peak , Carmel Valley , Los Carneros , Ramona Valley , Central Coast , Red Hills Lake County , Chalk Hill , Clear Lake , Diamond Mountain District , Russian River Valley , Dry Creek Valley , Rutherford , El Dorado , San Lucas , Santa Clara Valley , Santa Cruz Mountains , Santa Lucia Highlands , Santa Maria Valley , Santa Ynez Valley , Howell Mountain , Sierra Foothills , Knights Valley , Spring Mountain District , St. Helena , Lodi , Stags Leap District , Madera , Suisun Valley , Temecula Valley , Monterey , Mount Veeder , North Coast , Oak Knoll District , Yorkville Highlands , Oakville , Paicines , Clements Hills , Fair Play , Willow Creek , North Yuba , and Yountville . Seven Hills Winery planted

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6448-418: The beans provided nitrogen derived from nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria which live on the roots of beans and other legumes ; and squashes provided ground cover to stop weeds and inhibit evaporation by providing shade over the soil. Sweet corn, harvested earlier than maize grown for grain, grows to maturity in a period of from 60 to 100 days according to variety. An extended sweet corn harvest, picked at

6552-444: The body of Christ. Maize spread to the rest of the world because of its ability to grow in diverse climates. It was cultivated in Spain just a few decades after Columbus's voyages and then spread to Italy, West Africa and elsewhere. By the 17th century, it was a common peasant food in Southern Europe. By the 18th century, it was the chief food of the southern French and Italian peasantry, especially as polenta in Italy. When maize

6656-522: The cob on their own, while those of domesticated maize do not. All maize arose from a single domestication in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. The oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands. Maize spread from this region to the lowlands and over the Americas along two major paths. The centre of domestication was most likely the Balsas River valley of south-central Mexico. Maize reached highland Ecuador at least 8000 years ago. It reached lower Central America by 7600 years ago, and

6760-482: The density of a cream. It is a hearty and nutritious dish typical of winter. It is seasoned accordingly, with a spicy sauce prepared with oil (or fat), ground chili, paprika, green onion and salt, called quiquirimichi . The succulent locro (dense and with varied and abundant ingredients) usually receives the name of locro pulsudo ; on the other hand, it is called huaschalocro , 'poor locro' without meat or huascha locro (from Quechua wakcha luqru ), to

6864-428: The difference between the phenolic composition of Malbec wines from California and Mendoza, Argentina. Sixteen vineyards in California and twenty-six blocks in Mendoza were selected based on their uniformity and regional representativeness. The study concluded that there are distinct flavor and compositional differences in Malbec wines produced in Mendoza and California. Malbec is the dominant red variety in Cahors where

6968-425: The earliest and most successful, developing Reid's Yellow Dent in the 1860s. These early efforts were based on mass selection (a row of plants is grown from seeds of one parent), and the choosing of plants after pollination (which means that only the female parents are known). Later breeding efforts included ear to row selection (C. G. Hopkins c. 1896), hybrids made from selected inbred lines (G. H. Shull, 1909), and

7072-413: The entire ear is harvested, which requires a separate operation of a maize sheller to remove the kernels from the ear. Whole ears of maize were often stored in corn cribs , sufficient for some livestock feeding uses. Today corn cribs with whole ears, and corn binders, are less common because most modern farms harvest the grain from the field with a combine harvester and store it in bins . The combine with

7176-548: The expansion of the Inca Empire , maize was traded and transported as far south as 40° S in Melinquina, Lácar Department , Argentina, probably brought across the Andes from Chile. After the arrival of Europeans in 1492, Spanish settlers consumed maize, and explorers and traders carried it back to Europe . Spanish settlers much preferred wheat bread to maize. Maize flour could not be substituted for wheat for communion bread, since in Christian belief at that time only wheat could undergo transubstantiation and be transformed into

7280-470: The first malbec strains would be exported from Chile to Argentina, specifically to the Mendoza region. At the end of the century XIX, French winemakers began to expand Malbec plantations to other regions of the central-south zone of Chile, however they mixed them with other varieties, so the production of Malbec gradually faded over the years, as was the case in the Maule Region , since centenary Malbec vines that had been mixed with other vines were discovered

7384-524: The first vines of Malbec planted in Oregon state in the late 1990s in their Windrow vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley . Since the turn of the 21st century, several wineries have been experimenting with 100% varietal Malbec as well as using the variety in Meritage blends. In Washington state it is grown predominately in the Columbia Valley and the sub-AVAs of Walla Walla Valley, Rattlesnake Hills , Red Mountain , Wahluke Slope , Horse Heaven Hills and Yakima Valley . Elsewhere in Washington State, Malbec

7488-482: The glacial soils found within the Lake Chelan AVA produce wines possessing ripe raspberry - black fruit aromas and flavors with moderate acidity and tannins. The C R Sandidge Purtteman and Tsillan Cellars estate vineyards are known to produce stellar Malbec wines. The French ampelographer Pierre Galet has documented over a thousand different synonyms for Malbec, stemming in part from its peak period when it

7592-546: The grape is grown worldwide. It is also available as an Argentine varietal . The grape became less popular in Bordeaux after 1956 when frost killed off 75% of the crop. Despite Cahors being hit by the same frost, which devastated the vineyards, Malbec was replanted and continued to be popular in that area. Winemakers in the region frequently mixed Malbec with Merlot and Tannat to make dark, full-bodied wines, but have ventured into 100% Malbec varietal wines more recently. A popular but unconfirmed theory claims that Malbec

7696-717: The high altitude, Colorado appellation of the Grand Valley . Additionally, there are some plantings in Missouri and Georgia outside of federally delineated appellations. The success of Malbec led some producers in Chile to try their hand at the varietal. Grown throughout the Central Valley , Chilean Malbec tends to be more tannic than its counterpart and is used primarily in Bordeaux-style blends. In 2016

7800-532: The highly successful double cross hybrids using four inbred lines ( D. F. Jones c. 1918, 1922). University-supported breeding programs were especially important in developing and introducing modern hybrids. Since the 1940s, the best strains of maize have been first-generation hybrids made from inbred strains that have been optimized for specific traits, such as yield, nutrition, drought, pest and disease tolerance. Both conventional cross-breeding and genetic engineering have succeeded in increasing output and reducing

7904-550: The history of the word corn in North America that "[t]o say the word corn is to plunge into the tragi-farcical mistranslations of language and history". Similar to the British usage, the Spanish referred to maize as panizo , a generic term for cereal grains, as did Italians with the term polenta . The British later referred to maize as Turkey wheat, Turkey corn, or Indian corn; Fussell comments that "they meant not

8008-446: The ingredients. Thus, the Argentine locro is prepared according to a multitude of recipes, the only invariable thing being its vegetable base and the cooking procedure, over low heat for several hours. According to the region, it is prepared with fresh or dried beef jerky ( charqui ), offal (such as intestines, tripe, ribs, trotters, tail, ears and hide), sausages, pork ribs and bacon; the meats are cooked separately and then added to

8112-463: The leading producer of Malbec in Argentina with plantings found throughout the country in places such as La Rioja , Salta , San Juan , Catamarca and Buenos Aires . The grape clusters of Argentine Malbec are different from its French relatives, having smaller berries in tighter, smaller clusters. This suggests that the cuttings brought over by Pouget and later French immigrants were a unique clone that may have gone extinct in France due to frost and

8216-627: The locro is consumed on warm days, a fresh and fruity honeyed Argentine torrontés white wine is preferable. According to authors such as Victor Ego Ducrot, the Argentine locro became one of the Argentine national dishes during the Argentine War of Independence, and especially in the Gaucho War, when the gauchos who had fought in the ranks of the Army of the North then spread the typical stew of

8320-419: The machinery. The combine separates the husk and the cob, keeping only the kernels. Drying is vital to prevent or at least reduce damage by mould fungi, which contaminate the grain with mycotoxins . Aspergillus and Fusarium spp. are the most common mycotoxin sources, and accordingly important in agriculture. If the moisture content of the harvested grain is too high, grain dryers are used to reduce

8424-796: The main places are Colchagua Valley in O'Higgins Region , Maule Region and Bio-Bio Region . In California the grape is used to make Meritage . Malbec is also grown in Washington State , the Rogue and Umpqua regions of Oregon , the Grand Valley AVA of Colorado, Australia , New Zealand , South Africa , Brazil , British Columbia, the Long Island AVA of New York , southern Bolivia , Peru , northeastern Italy and recently in Texas and southern Ontario , Virginia, and in

8528-650: The mid to late 20th century, many acres of Malbec were uprooted and planted with different varieties. By 2000, there were slightly over 1,235 acres (500 hectares), with the Clare Valley and Langhorne Creek having the most significant amount. As newer clones become available, plantings of Malbec in Australia have increased slightly. Other regions with some plantings of Malbec include Northern Italy , New Zealand , Brazil , South Africa , British Columbia , Ontario , Peru , Bolivia , Mexico , Southern Indiana , and Israel . Wine expert Jancis Robinson describes

8632-413: The milk stage, can be arranged either by planting a selection of varieties which ripen earlier and later, or by planting different areas at fortnightly intervals. Maize harvested as a grain crop can be kept in the field a relatively long time, even months, after the crop is ready to harvest; it can be harvested and stored in the husk leaves if kept dry. Before World War II , most maize in North America

8736-427: The moisture content by blowing heated air through the grain. This can require large amounts of energy in the form of combustible gases ( propane or natural gas ) and electricity to power the blowers. Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. In 2020, total world production was 1.16 billion tonnes , led by the United States with 31.0% of

8840-501: The need for cropland, pesticides, water and fertilizer. There is conflicting evidence to support the hypothesis that maize yield potential has increased over the past few decades. This suggests that changes in yield potential are associated with leaf angle, lodging resistance, tolerance of high plant density, disease/pest tolerance, and other agronomic traits rather than increase of yield potential per individual plant. Certain varieties of maize have been bred to produce many ears; these are

8944-400: The new crop. The rise in maize cultivation 500 to 1,000 years ago in what is now the southeastern United States corresponded with a decline of freshwater mussels , which are very sensitive to environmental changes. Because it is cold-intolerant, in the temperate zones maize must be planted in the spring. Its root system is generally shallow, so the plant is dependent on soil moisture. As

9048-465: The north. In the United States, maize was first cultivated at several sites in New Mexico and Arizona about 4,100 years ago. During the first millennium AD, maize cultivation spread more widely in the areas north. In particular, the large-scale adoption of maize agriculture and consumption in eastern North America took place about A.D. 900. Native Americans cleared large forest and grassland areas for

9152-488: The only significant plantings are in the regions of the Côtes-de-Bourg , Blaye and Entre-Deux-Mers . While acreage of the Malbec is declining in France, in Argentina the grape is surging and has become a "national variety" of a sort that is uniquely identified with Argentine wine . The grape was first introduced to the region in the mid 19th century when provincial governor Domingo Faustino Sarmiento instructed

9256-403: The preparation of vegetables, among which pumpkin usually stands out (especially the round, gray kind known as zapallo plomo ), which usually gives its yellow color to the locro, and white corn grains, beans and even wheat grains. In Argentina locro with white corn is preferred. Locro based on crushed corn grains is called frangollo , vegetables which due to starch make the preparation reach

9360-760: The presence of Starlink genetically modified corn, which had been approved only for animal consumption. The maize genus Zea is relatively closely related to sorghum , both being in the PACMAD clade of Old World grasses, and much more distantly to rice and wheat , which are in the other major group of grasses, the BOP clade . It is closely related to Tripsacum , gamagrass. various grasses e.g. fescue , ryegrass Hordeum (barley) Triticum (wheat) Oryza (rice) Pennisetum (fountaingrasses) Sorghum (sorghum) Tripsacum (gamagrass) Zea mays (maize) other Zea species ( teosintes ) Maize

9464-488: The region scoring over 95 points in Wine Spectator and Robert Parker 's The Wine Advocate . Although Carménère is the emblematic strain of Chilean wine and other varieties of strains such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot noir among others are harvested in the country, Malbec has experienced exponential growth in its production during the last decades, due to the discovery of hundred-year-old vines of

9568-491: The source of the " baby corn " used as a vegetable in Asian cuisine . A fast-flowering variety named mini-maize was developed to aid scientific research, as multiple generations can be obtained in a single year. One strain called olotón has evolved a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing microbes, which provides the plant with 29%–82% of its nitrogen. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) operates

9672-441: The southwestern part of the country. Its stronghold remains Cahors where Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) regulations stipulates that Malbec must compose at least 70% of the blend, with Merlot and Tannat rounding out the remaining percentage. Outside of Cahors, Malbec is still found in small amounts as a permitted variety in the AOCs of Bergerac , Buzet , Côtes de Duras , Côtes du Marmandais , Fronton and Pécharmant . It

9776-415: The stalk. Maize is monoecious , with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. At the top of the stem is the tassel, an inflorescence of male flowers; their anthers release pollen, which is dispersed by wind . Like other pollen, it is an allergen , but most of it falls within a few meters of the tassel and the risk is largely restricted to farm workers. The female inflorescence, some way down

9880-425: The stem from the tassel, is first seen as a silk, a bundle of soft tubular hairs , one for the carpel in each female flower, which develops into a kernel (often called a seed. Botanically, as in all grasses, it is a fruit, fused with the seed coat to form a caryopsis ) when it is pollinated. A whole female inflorescence develops into an ear or corncob , enveloped by multiple leafy layers or husks. The ear leaf

9984-608: The term maize , and the name corn is used mainly in the United States and a handful of other English-speaking countries. In countries that primarily use the term maize , the word corn may denote any cereal crop, varying geographically with the local staple , such as wheat in England and oats in Scotland or Ireland. The usage of corn for maize started as a shortening of " Indian corn " in 18th-century North America. The historian of food Betty Fussell writes in an article on

10088-472: The total (table). China produced 22.4% of the global total. Many pests can affect maize growth and development, including invertebrates, weeds, and pathogens. Maize is susceptible to a large number of fungal, bacterial, and viral plant diseases . Those of economic importance include diseases of the leaf, smuts such as corn smut , ear rots and stalk rots. Northern corn leaf blight damages maize throughout its range, whereas banded leaf and sheath blight

10192-500: The two is largely controlled by differences in just two genes, called grassy tillers-1 ( gt1 , A0A317YEZ1 ) and teosinte branched-1 ( tb1 , Q93WI2 ). In the late 1930s, Paul Mangelsdorf suggested that domesticated maize was the result of a hybridization event between an unknown wild maize and a species of Tripsacum , a related genus; this has been refuted by modern genetic testing . In 2004, John Doebley identified Balsas teosinte, Zea mays subsp. parviglumis , native to

10296-589: The valleys of the Colombian Andes between 7000 and 6000 years ago. The earliest maize plants grew a single, small ear per plant. The Olmec and Maya cultivated maize in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica ; they cooked, ground and processed it through nixtamalization . By 3000 years ago, maize was central to Olmec culture, including their calendar, language, and myths. The Mapuche people of south-central Chile cultivated maize along with quinoa and potatoes in pre-Hispanic times. Before

10400-502: The variety, as well as the year-on-year increase in hectares planted for its exclusive production in the country. It is currently estimated that in Chile there are 2,361 hectares dedicated exclusively to the production of Malbec. The history of malbec in Chile begins in 1841, when a group of French winemakers brought the vine to the country, along with other varieties to be planted in the Quinta Normal of Santiago , later in 1853

10504-404: Was growing in 30 different departments of France . While Malbec is the name most commonly known to wine drinkers, Galet suggest that Côt was most likely the grape variety's original name and the frequent appearance of Auxerrois as a synonym suggests the northern reaches of Burgundy as being the possible home of the varietal. In Bordeaux, where the variety first gained attention, it was known under

10608-458: Was harvested by hand. This involved a large number of workers and associated social events (husking or shucking bees ). From the 1890s onward, some machinery became available to partially mechanize the processes, such as one- and two-row mechanical pickers (picking the ear, leaving the stover ) and corn binders, which are reaper-binders designed specifically for maize. The latter produce sheaves that can be shocked . By hand or mechanical picker,

10712-425: Was introduced into Western farming systems, it was welcomed for its productivity. However, a widespread problem of malnutrition soon arose wherever it had become a staple food . Indigenous Americans had learned to soak maize in alkali -water — made with ashes and lime — since at least 1200–1500 BC, creating the process of nixtamalization. They did this to liberate the corn hulls, but coincidentally it also liberated

10816-466: Was one of the 26 genetically engineered food crops grown commercially in 2016. The vast majority of this is Bt maize . Genetically modified maize has been grown since 1997 in the United States and Canada; by 2016, 92% of the US maize crop was genetically modified. As of 2011, herbicide-tolerant maize and insect-resistant maize varieties were each grown in over 20 countries. In September 2000, up to $ 50 million worth of food products were recalled due to

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