玉米

Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays, pronounced /?me?z/; also known in some countries as corn), is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents.玉米（Zea mays L. ssp。mays，發音為/？me？z /；在某些國家中也稱為玉米），是在中美洲馴化的穀物，隨後傳播到整個美洲大陸。 After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, maize spread to the rest of the world.在XNUMX世紀末和XNUMX世紀初歐洲與美洲接觸之後，玉米傳播到了世界其他地區。
Maize is the most widely grown crop in the Americas (332 million metric tons annually in the United States alone).玉米是美洲種植最廣泛的作物（僅在美國每年就有7億公噸）。 Hybrid maize, due to its high grain yield as a result of heterosis ("hybrid vigor"), is preferred by farmers over conventional varieties.雜交玉米由於雜種優勢（“雜交活力”）而具有較高的穀物產量，因此與常規品種相比，農民更喜歡。 While some maize varieties grow up to 23 metres (2.5 ft) tall,most commercially grown maize has been bred for a standardized height of 8 metres (XNUMX ft).雖然一些玉米品種長到XNUMX米（XNUMX英尺）高，但大多數商業種植的玉米均以XNUMX米（XNUMX英尺）的標準高度進行育種。 Sweet corn is usually shorter than field-corn varieties.甜玉米通常比田間玉米品種短。
The term maize derives from the Spanish form (maíz) of the indigenous Taino term for the plant, and was the form most commonly heard in the United Kingdom.玉米一詞源自該植物的本土泰諾語的西班牙形式（maíz），是英國最常見的形式。 In the United States and Canada (ma?s or "blé d'Inde" in French speaking Canadian regions), the usual term is "corn", originally the English term for any grain, as for example in mentions in the Bible, but which now refers usually to maize, having been shortened from the form "Indian corn" (which currently, at least in the US and Canada, is often used to refer specifically to multi-colored "field corn" cultivars).在美國和加拿大（加拿大法語地區為mass或“bléd'Inde”），通常的術語是“玉米”，最初是任何穀物的英語術語，例如聖經中提到的那樣，但是現在通常指的是玉米，從“印度玉米”的形式簡化了（目前，至少在美國和加拿大，這種玉米通常專門指多色的“田間玉米”品種）。 In scientific and very formal usage "maize" is normally used globally;在科學和非常正式的用法中，“玉米”通常在全球範圍內使用。 equally in bulk trading contexts "corn" is mostly used.同樣，在大宗交易環境中，通常使用“玉米”。 In the UK, Australia and other English-speaking countries "corn" may be used in culinary contexts, especially for products like popcorn and corn flakes, but "maize" is used in agriculture as well as science在英國，澳大利亞和其他英語國家，“玉米”可用於烹飪場合，尤其是用於爆米花和玉米片等產品，但“玉米”可用於農業和科學領域