Teosinte

Introduction:

• Scientific name: Euchlaena maxicana
• Considered a little less nutritious and palatable than maize and has profuse tillering capacity.
• Can withstand heavy monsoon showers or water-logged conditions for a short time.
• Grows rather slowly at first but comes up fast after establishment.
• Has less tendency to lodge than maize. The seeds of the crop aren’t edible as they are very hard and not easy to digest.

Climate:

• Grows vigorously in a higher soil moisture regime than maize.
• Moist conditions are more conducive for growth, particularly after the establishment of the crop.

Plant characteristics:

• Annual grass growing up to a height of 2-2.5 meters.
• As fairly good tillering capacity, unlike maize.
• Inflorescence forms a terminal tassel and the female flowers are found in small ears in leaf axils.
• Seeds are enclosed in thick hulls of each section of the spike.

Soil conditions

• Moist loams to clay loams are best but sandy soils with liberal applications of organic manures can also be effectively utilized.
• A fairly deep rich soil, moist but not wet is the most suitable.
• Saline, alkali, sandy, shallow, and swampy soils should be avoided to ensure good fodder yield.

Sowing time

• It is advisable to sow the seeds from early March to the end of July.

Sowing method, spacing, and seed rate

• Seeds can be sown behind the plow as maize.
• Broadcasting requires a low seed rate.
• The rows are generally spaced 30-40 cm apart and 50-60 cm in case of less fertile soil.
• Light seeds can be removed by immersing seeds in a 2% solution of common salt and separating the floating seeds.

Crop mixture

• It is better if seeds of teosinte are mixed with cowpea, velvet bean, cluster bean, green gram, horse gram, rice bean, or field bean.
• In areas prone to water logging, 25 kg of maize seeds should be mixed with 20 kg of teosinte and sown in the same row.
• The proportion of teosinte seeds may be increased in heavy soils where water may stagnate for longer periods than in light soils.

Manuring

• FYM @ 25 t per hectare before sowing.
• Urea 55-60 kg, SSP 170-180, kg and MOP 40-50 Kg may be applied.
• An additional 50 of Kg urea may be top-dressed six weeks after sowing.
• In a two-cut management system, about 70 kg of urea may be broadcast after the first cutting and the light application of irrigation, if available.

Harvesting and yield

• The best stage of harvest is about 7-10 days after the appearance of the tasse.
• Yields don’t exceed 350 q per hectare.
• As a monsoon crop, it grows in a more congenial environment and can easily yield 450 q/ha.
• The seed rate should be about 20-25 kg/ha for seed production purposes.