document_title: Maize

question_text: what is the difference between corn on the cob and maize

question_tokens: what is the difference between corn on the cob and maize

text: Maize

text: History

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text: Most historians believe maize was domesticated in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico.[4] Recent research in the early 21st century has modified this view somewhat; scholars now indicate the adjacent Balsas River Valley of south-central Mexico as the center of domestication.[5]

text: The Olmec and Maya cultivated maize in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica; they cooked, ground and processed it through nixtamalization. It was believed that beginning about 2500 BC, the crop spread through much of the Americas.[6] Research of the 21st century has established even earlier dates. The region developed a trade network based on surplus and varieties of maize crops.

text: An influential 2002 study by Matsuoka et al. has demonstrated that, rather than the multiple independent domestications model, all maize arose from a single domestication in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. The study also demonstrated that the oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands. Later, maize spread from this region over the Americas along two major paths. This is consistent with a model based on the archaeological record suggesting that maize diversified in the highlands of Mexico before spreading to the lowlands.[7][8]

text: Archaeologist Dolores Piperno has said:[5]

text: A large corpus of data indicates that it [maize] was dispersed into lower Central America by 7600 BP [5600 BC] and had moved into the inter-Andean valleys of Colombia between 7000 and 6000 BP [5000-4000 BC].

text: [page needed]

text: Since then, even earlier dates have been published.[9]

text: According to a genetic study by Embrapa, corn cultivation was introduced in South America from Mexico, in two great waves: the first, more than 6000 years ago, spread through the Andes. Evidence of cultivation in Peru has been found dating to about 6700 years ago.[10] The second wave, about 2000 years ago, through the lowlands of South America.[11]

text: Before domestication, maize plants grew only small, 25 millimetres (1 in) long corn cobs, and only one per plant. Many centuries of artificial selection by the indigenous people of the Americas resulted in the development of maize plants capable of growing several cobs per plant, which were usually several centimetres/inches long each.[12]

text: Maize is the most widely grown grain crop throughout the Americas, with 361 million metric tons grown in the United States in 2014 (Production table). Approximately 40% of the crop—130 million tons—is used for corn ethanol.[13] Genetically modified maize made up 85% of the maize planted in the United States in 2009.[14]

text: Columbian exchange

text: After the arrival of Europeans in 1492, Spanish settlers consumed maize and explorers and traders carried it back to Europe and introduced it to other countries. Spanish settlers far preferred wheat bread to maize, cassava, or potatoes. Maize flour could not be substituted for wheat for communion bread, since in Christian belief only wheat could undergo transubstantiation and be transformed into the body of Christ.[15] Some Spaniards worried that by eating indigenous foods, which they did not consider nutritious, they would weaken and risk turning into Indians. "In the view of Europeans, it was the food they ate, even more than the environment in which they lived, that gave Amerindians and Spaniards both their distinctive physical characteristics and their characteristic personalities."[16] Despite these worries, Spaniards did consume maize. Archeological evidence from Florida sites indicate they cultivated it as well.[17]

text: 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.[17] Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks.

text: Names

text: The word maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taíno word for the plant, mahiz.[18] It is known by other names around the world.

text: The word "corn" outside North America, Australia, and New Zealand refers to any cereal crop, its meaning understood to vary geographically to refer to the local staple.[19][20] In the United States,[19] Canada,[21] Australia, and New Zealand,[22] corn primarily means maize; this usage started as a shortening of "Indian corn".[19] "Indian corn" primarily means maize (the staple grain of indigenous Americans), but can refer more specifically to multicolored "flint corn" used for decoration.[23]

text: In places outside North America, Australia, and New Zealand, corn often refers to maize in culinary contexts. The narrower meaning is usually indicated by some additional word, as in sweet corn, sweetcorn, corn on the cob, baby corn, the puffed confection known as popcorn and the breakfast cereal known as corn flakes.

text: In Southern Africa, maize is commonly called mielie (Afrikaans) or mealie (English),[24] words derived from the Portuguese word for maize, milho.[25]

text: Maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage because it refers specifically to this one grain, unlike corn, which has a complex variety of meanings that vary by context and geographic region.[20] Maize is used by agricultural bodies and research institutes such as the FAO and CSIRO. National agricultural and industry associations often include the word maize in their name even in English-speaking countries where the local, informal word is something other than maize; for example, the Maize Association of Australia, the Indian Maize Development Association, the Kenya Maize Consortium and Maize Breeders Network, the National Maize Association of Nigeria, the Zimbabwe Seed Maize Association. However, in commodities trading, corn consistently refers to maize and not other grains.[citation needed]

text: Structure and physiology

text: The maize plant is often 3 m (10 ft) in height,[26] though some natural strains can grow 12 m (39 ft).[27] The stem is commonly composed of 20 internodes [28] of 18 cm (7.1 in) length.[26] A leaf, which grows from each node, is generally 9 cm (4 in) in width and 120 cm (4 ft) in length.

text: Ears develop above a few of the leaves in the midsection of the plant, between the stem and leaf sheath, elongating by around 3 millimetres (0.12 in) per day, to a length of 18 cm (7 in) [26] with 60 cm (24 in) being the maximum alleged in the subspecies.[29] They are female inflorescences, tightly enveloped by several layers of ear leaves commonly called husks. Certain varieties of maize have been bred to produce many additional developed ears. These are the source of the "baby corn" used as a vegetable in Asian cuisine.

text: The apex of the stem ends in the tassel, an inflorescence of male flowers. When the tassel is mature and conditions are suitably warm and dry, anthers on the tassel dehisce and release pollen. Maize pollen is anemophilous (dispersed by wind), and because of its large settling velocity, most pollen falls within a few meters of the tassel.

text: Elongated stigmas, called silks, emerge from the whorl of husk leaves at the end of the ear. They are often pale yellow and 18 cm (7 in) in length, like tufts of hair in appearance. At the end of each is a carpel, which may develop into a "kernel" if fertilized by a pollen grain. The pericarp of the fruit is fused with the seed coat referred to as "caryopsis", typical of the grasses, and the entire kernel is often referred to as the "seed". The cob is close to a multiple fruit in structure, except that the individual fruits (the kernels) never fuse into a single mass. The grains are about the size of peas, and adhere in regular rows around a white, pithy substance, which forms the ear. The maximum size of kernels is reputedly 2.5 cm (1 in).[30] An ear commonly holds 600 kernels. They are of various colors: blackish, bluish-gray, purple, green, red, white and yellow. When ground into flour, maize yields more flour with much less bran than wheat does. It lacks the protein gluten of wheat and, therefore, makes baked goods with poor rising capability. A genetic variant that accumulates more sugar and less starch in the ear is consumed as a vegetable and is called sweet corn. Young ears can be consumed raw, with the cob and silk, but as the plant matures (usually during the summer months), the cob becomes tougher and the silk dries to inedibility. By the end of the growing season, the kernels dry out and become difficult to chew without cooking them tender first in boiling water.

text:
Female inflorescence, with young silk

mature silk

Stalks, ears, and silk

Male flowers

Full-grown maize plants

Mature maize ear on a stalk

text: Planting density affects multiple aspects of maize. Modern farming techniques in developed countries usually rely on dense planting, which produces one ear per stalk.[31] Stands of silage maize are yet denser,[32] and achieve a lower percentage of ears and more plant matter.

text: Maize is a facultative short-day plant [33] and flowers in a certain number of growing degree days > 10 °C (50 °F) in the environment to which it is adapted.[34] The magnitude of the influence that long nights have on the number of days that must pass before maize flowers is genetically prescribed[35] and regulated by the phytochrome system.[36] Photoperiodicity can be eccentric in tropical cultivars such that the long days characteristic of higher latitudes allow the plants to grow so tall that they do not have enough time to produce seed before being killed by frost. These attributes, however, may prove useful in using tropical maize for biofuels.[37]

text: Immature maize shoots accumulate a powerful antibiotic substance, 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA). DIMBOA is a member of a group of hydroxamic acids (also known as benzoxazinoids) that serve as a natural defense against a wide range of pests, including insects, pathogenic fungi and bacteria. DIMBOA is also found in related grasses, particularly wheat. A maize mutant (bx) lacking DIMBOA is highly susceptible to attack by aphids and fungi. DIMBOA is also responsible for the relative resistance of immature maize to the European corn borer (family Crambidae). As maize matures, DIMBOA levels and resistance to the corn borer decline.

text: Because of its shallow roots, maize is susceptible to droughts, intolerant of nutrient-deficient soils, and prone to be uprooted by severe winds.[38]

text:
Maize kernels

Maize plant diagram

Ear of maize with irregular rows of kernels

text: While yellow maizes derive their color from lutein and zeaxanthin, in red-colored maizes, the kernel coloration is due to anthocyanins and phlobaphenes. These latter substances are synthesized in the flavonoids synthetic pathway[39] from polymerisation of flavan-4-ols[40] by the expression of maize pericarp color1 (p1) gene[41] which encodes an R2R3 myb-like transcriptional activator[42] of the A1 gene encoding for the dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (reducing dihydroflavonols into flavan-4-ols)[43] while another gene (Suppressor of Pericarp Pigmentation 1 or SPP1) acts as a suppressor.[44] The p1 gene encodes an Myb-homologous transcriptional activator of genes required for biosynthesis of red phlobaphene pigments, while the P1-wr allele specifies colorless kernel pericarp and red cobs, and unstable factor for orange1 (Ufo1) modifies P1-wr expression to confer pigmentation in kernel pericarp, as well as vegetative tissues, which normally do not accumulate significant amounts of phlobaphene pigments.[41] The maize P gene encodes a Myb homolog that recognizes the sequence CCT/AACC, in sharp contrast with the C/TAACGG bound by vertebrate Myb proteins.[45]

text: Abnormal flowers

text: Maize flowers may sometimes exhibit mutations that lead to the formation of female flowers in the tassel. These mutations, ts4 and Ts6, prohibit the development of the stamen while simultaneously promoting pistil development.[46] This may cause inflorescences containing both male and female flowers, or hermaphrodite flowers.[47]

text: Genetics

text: Many forms of maize are used for food, sometimes classified as various subspecies related to the amount of starch each has:

text:
Flour corn: Zea mays var. amylacea
Popcorn: Zea mays var. everta
Dent corn : Zea mays var. indentata
Flint corn: Zea mays var. indurata
Sweet corn: Zea mays var. saccharata and Zea mays var. rugosa
Waxy corn: Zea mays var. ceratina
Amylomaize: Zea mays
Pod corn: Zea mays var. tunicata Larrañaga ex A. St. Hil.
Striped maize: Zea mays var. japonica

text: This system has been replaced (though not entirely displaced) over the last 60 years by multivariable classifications based on ever more data. Agronomic data were supplemented by botanical traits for a robust initial classification, then genetic, cytological, protein and DNA evidence was added. Now, the categories are forms (little used), races, racial complexes, and recently branches.

text: Maize is a diploid with 20 chromosomes (n=10). The combined length of the chromosomes is 1500 cM. Some of the maize chromosomes have what are known as "chromosomal knobs": highly repetitive heterochromatic domains that stain darkly. Individual knobs are polymorphic among strains of both maize and teosinte.

text: Barbara McClintock used these knob markers to validate her transposon theory of "jumping genes", for which she won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Maize is still an important model organism for genetics and developmental biology today.[48]

text: The Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center, funded by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and located in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a stock center of maize mutants. The total collection has nearly 80,000 samples. The bulk of the collection consists of several hundred named genes, plus additional gene combinations and other heritable variants. There are about 1000 chromosomal aberrations (e.g., translocations and inversions) and stocks with abnormal chromosome numbers (e.g., tetraploids). Genetic data describing the maize mutant stocks as well as myriad other data about maize genetics can be accessed at MaizeGDB, the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database.[49]

text: In 2005, the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) formed a consortium to sequence the B73 maize genome. The resulting DNA sequence data was deposited immediately into GenBank, a public repository for genome-sequence data. Sequences and genome annotations have also been made available throughout the project's lifetime at the project's official site.[50]

text: Primary sequencing of the maize genome was completed in 2008.[51] On November 20, 2009, the consortium published results of its sequencing effort in Science.[52] The genome, 85% of which is composed of transposons, was found to contain 32,540 genes (By comparison, the human genome contains about 2.9 billion bases and 26,000 genes). Much of the maize genome has been duplicated and reshuffled by helitrons—group of rolling circle transposons.[53]

text: Breeding

text: Maize reproduces sexually each year. This randomly selects half the genes from a given plant to propagate to the next generation, meaning that desirable traits found in the crop (like high yield or good nutrition) can be lost in subsequent generations unless certain techniques are used.

text: 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 the earliest and most successful developing Reid's Yellow Dent in the 1860s. These early efforts were based on mass selection. Later breeding efforts included ear to row selection, (C. G. Hopkins ca. 1896), hybrids made from selected inbred lines (G. H. Shull, 1909), and the highly successful double cross hybrids using 4 inbred lines (D. F. Jones ca. 1918, 1922). University supported breeding programs were especially important in developing and introducing modern hybrids. (Ref Jugenheimer Hybrid Maize Breeding and Seed Production pub. 1958) by the 1930s, companies such as Pioneer devoted to production of hybrid maize had begun to influence long term development. Internationally important seed banks such as International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the US bank at Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign maintain germplasm important for future crop development.

text: 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 modification have succeeded in increasing output and reducing the need for cropland, pesticides, water and fertilizer.[54]

text: Global maize program

text: CIMMYT operates a conventional breeding program to provide optimized strains. The program began in the 1980s. Hybrid seeds are distributed in Africa by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project.[54]

text: Genetic modification

text: Genetically modified (GM) maize was one of the 26 GM crops grown commercially in 2016.[55][56] Grown since 1997 in the United States and Canada, 92% of the US maize crop was genetically modified in 2016[55][57] and 33% of the worldwide maize crop was GM in 2016.[55][58] As of 2011, Herbicide-tolerant maize varieties were grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, El Salvador, the European Union, Honduras, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, and USA, and insect-resistant corn was grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, the EU, Honduras, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, USA, and Uruguay.[59]

text: In September 2000, up to $50 million worth of food products were recalled due to the presence of Starlink genetically modified corn, which had been approved only for animal consumption and had not been approved for human consumption, and was subsequently withdrawn from the market.[60]

text: Origin

text: Maize is the domesticated variant of teosinte.[61] 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 the two is largely controlled by differences in just two genes.[61]

text: Several theories had been proposed about the specific origin of maize in Mesoamerica:[62][63]

text:
It is a direct domestication of a Mexican annual teosinte, Zea mays ssp. parviglumis, native to the Balsas River valley in south-eastern Mexico, with up to 12% of its genetic material obtained from Zea mays ssp. mexicana through introgression. This theory was further confirmed by the 2002 study of Matsuoka et al.[7]
It has been derived from hybridization between a small domesticated maize (a slightly changed form of a wild maize) and a teosinte of section Luxuriantes, either Z. luxurians or Z. diploperennis.
It has undergone two or more domestications either of a wild maize or of a teosinte. (The term "teosinte" describes all species and subspecies in the genus Zea, excluding Zea mays ssp. mays.)
It has evolved from a hybridization of Z. diploperennis by Tripsacum dactyloides.

tag: ol

text: 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 theory about the origin of maize has been refuted by modern genetic testing, which refutes Mangelsdorf's model and the fourth listed above.[62]:40

text: The teosinte origin theory was proposed by the Russian botanist Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov in 1931 and the later American Nobel Prize-winner George Beadle in 1932.[62]:10 It is supported experimentally and by recent studies of the plants' genomes. Teosinte and maize are able to cross-breed and produce fertile offspring. A number of questions remain concerning the species, among them:

text:
how the immense diversity of the species of sect. Zea originated,
how the tiny archaeological specimens of 3500–2700 BC could have been selected from a teosinte, and
how domestication could have proceeded without leaving remains of teosinte or maize with teosintoid traits earlier than the earliest known until recently, dating from ca. 1100 BC.

text: The domestication of maize is of particular interest to researchers—archaeologists, geneticists, ethnobotanists, geographers, etc. The process is thought by some to have started 7,500 to 12,000 years ago. Research from the 1950s to 1970s originally focused on the hypothesis that maize domestication occurred in the highlands between the states of Oaxaca and Jalisco, because the oldest archaeological remains of maize known at the time were found there.

text: Connection with 'parviglumis' subspecies

text: Genetic studies led by John Doebley identified Zea mays ssp. parviglumis, native to the Balsas River valley in Mexico's southwestern highlands, and also known as Balsas teosinte, as being the crop wild relative teosinte genetically most similar to modern maize.[64] This has been confirmed by further more recent studies, which refined this hypothesis somewhat. Archaeobotanical studies published in 2009 now point to the middle part of the Balsas River valley as the more likely location of early domestication; this river is not very long, so these locations are not very distant. Stone milling tools with maize residue have been found in an 8,700-years old layer of deposits in a cave not far from Iguala, Guerrero.[65][66][67]

text: Also, Doebley was part of the team that is credited with first finding, back in 2002, that maize had been domesticated only once, about 9000 years ago, and then spread throughout the Americas.[7][68]

text: 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, date back roughly 6,250 years; the oldest ears from caves near Tehuacan, Puebla, date ca. 3,450 BC.[6]

text: Maize pollen dated to 7300 cal B.P. from San Andres, Tabasco, on the Caribbean coast has also been recovered.[66]

text: As maize was introduced to new cultures, new uses were developed and new varieties selected to better serve in those preparations. Maize was the staple food, or a major staple – along with squash, Andean region potato, quinoa, beans, and amaranth – of most pre-Columbian North American, Mesoamerican, South American, and Caribbean cultures. The Mesoamerican civilization, in particular, was deeply interrelated with maize. Its traditions and rituals involved all aspects of maize cultivation – from the planting to the food preparation. Maize formed the Mesoamerican people's identity.

text: It is unknown what precipitated its domestication, because the edible portion of the wild variety is too small and hard to obtain to be eaten directly, as each kernel is enclosed in a very hard bivalve shell. It is possible that, early on, teosinte may have been gathered as preferred feed for domestic animals.

text: Also, back in 1939, George Beadle demonstrated that the kernels of teosinte are readily "popped" for human consumption, like modern popcorn.[69] Some have argued it would have taken too many generations of selective breeding to produce large, compressed ears for efficient cultivation. However, studies of the hybrids readily made by intercrossing teosinte and modern maize suggest this objection is not well founded.

text: Spreading to the north

text: Around 2500 BC, maize began to spread to the north; it was first cultivated in what is now the United States at several sites in New Mexico and Arizona, about 2100 BC.[70]

text: 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 the new crop.[71]

text: In 2005, research by the USDA Forest Service suggested that 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.[72]

text: Cultivation

text: Planting

text: 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 a C4 plant (a plant that uses C4 carbon fixation), maize is a considerably more water-efficient crop than C3 plants (plants that use C3 carbon fixation) like the small grains, 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 were "knee-high by the Fourth of July", although modern hybrids generally exceed this growth rate. Maize used for silage 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 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 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 has been said to thrive in cold, hot, dry or wet conditions, meaning that it is an extremely versatile crop.[73]

text: Maize was planted by the Native Americans in hills, in a complex system known to some as the Three Sisters. Maize provided support for beans, and 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.[74] This method was replaced by single species hill planting where each hill 60–120 cm (2.0–3.9 ft) apart was planted with three or four seeds, a method still used by home gardeners. A later technique was "checked maize", where hills were placed 40 in (1.0 m) apart in each direction, allowing cultivators to run through the field in two directions. In more arid lands, this was altered and seeds were planted in the bottom of 10–12 cm (3.9–4.7 in) deep furrows to collect water. Modern technique plants maize in rows which allows for cultivation while the plant is young, although the hill technique is still used in the maize fields of some Native American reservations. When maize is planted in rows, it also allows for planting of other crops between these rows to make more efficient use of land space.[75]

text: In most regions today, maize grown in residential gardens is still often planted manually with a hoe, whereas maize grown commercially is no longer planted manually but rather is planted with a planter. In North America, fields are often planted in a two-crop rotation with a nitrogen-fixing crop, often alfalfa in cooler climates and soybeans in regions with longer summers. Sometimes a third crop, winter wheat, is added to the rotation.

text: Many of the maize varieties grown in the United States and Canada are hybrids. Often the varieties have been genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate or to provide protection against natural pests. Glyphosate is an herbicide which kills all plants except those with genetic tolerance. This genetic tolerance is very rarely found in nature.

text: In the midwestern United States, low-till or no-till farming techniques are usually used. In low-till, fields are covered once, maybe twice, with a tillage implement either ahead of crop planting or after the previous harvest. The fields are planted and fertilized. Weeds are controlled through the use of herbicides, and no cultivation tillage is done during the growing season. This technique reduces moisture evaporation from the soil, and thus provides more moisture for the crop. The technologies mentioned in the previous paragraph enable low-till and no-till farming. Weeds compete with the crop for moisture and nutrients, making them undesirable.

text: Harvesting

text: Before the 20th century, all maize harvesting was by manual labour, by grazing, or by some combination of those. Whether the ears were hand-picked and the stover was grazed, or the whole plant was cut, gathered, and shocked, people and livestock did all the work. Between the 1890s and the 1970s, the technology of maize harvesting expanded greatly. Today, all such technologies, from entirely manual harvesting to entirely mechanized, are still in use to some degree, as appropriate to each farm's needs, although the thoroughly mechanized versions predominate, as they offer the lowest unit costs when scaled to large farm operations. For small farms, their unit cost can be too high, as their higher fixed cost cannot be amortized over as many units.

text: Before World War II, most maize in North America was harvested by hand. This involved a large numbers 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 (for example, Video on YouTube). The latter produce sheaves that can be shocked. By hand or mechanical picker, the entire ear is harvested, which then 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, and these whole ears are a sufficient form for some livestock feeding use. 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 and store it in bins. The combine with 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 the machinery. The combine separates out the husk and the cob, keeping only the kernels.

text: When maize is a silage crop, the entire plant is usually chopped at once with a forage harvester (chopper) and ensiled in silos or polymer wrappers. Ensiling of sheaves cut by a corn binder was formerly common in some regions but has become uncommon.

text: For storing grain in bins, the moisture of the grain must be sufficiently low to avoid spoiling. If the moisture content of the harvested grain is too high, grain dryers are used to reduce 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.[76]

text: Production

text: Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain.[77] In 2014, total world production was 1.04 billion tonnes, led by the United States with 35% of the total (table). China produced 21% of the global total.

text:
Maize production - 2014[78]

Country
Production (millions of tonnes)

 United States
361.1

 China
215.6

 Brazil
79.9

 Argentina
33.1

 Ukraine
28.5

 India
23.7

 Mexico
23.3

 World

1037.8

text: United States

text: In 2016, corn (maize) production was forecast to be over 15 billion bushels, an increase of 11% over 2014 American production.[79] Based on conditions as of August 2016, the expected yield would be the highest ever for the United States.[79] The area of harvested maize was forecast to be 87 million acres, an increase of 7% over 2015.[79]

text: Pests

text: Insects

text:
African armyworm (Spodoptera exempta)
African sugarcane borer (Eldana saccharina)
Common armyworm (Pseudaletia unipuncta)
Common earwig (Forficula auricularia)
Corn delphacid (Peregrinus maidis)
Corn leaf aphid (Rhopalosiphum maidis)
Corn rootworms (Diabrotica spp) including Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte), Northern corn rootworm (D. barberi) and Southern corn rootworm (D. undecimpunctata howardi)
Corn silkfly (Euxesta stigmatias)
Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis)
European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) (ECB)
Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)
Corn earworm/Cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa zea)
Lesser cornstalk borer (Elasmopalpus lignosellus)
Maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais)
Northern armyworm, Oriental armyworm or Rice ear-cutting caterpillar (Mythimna separata)
Southwestern corn borer (Diatraea grandiosella)
Stalk borer (Papaipema nebris)

text: The susceptibility of maize to the European corn borer and corn rootworms, and the resulting large crop losses which are estimated at a billion dollars worldwide for each pest,[80][81][82] led to the development of transgenics expressing the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin. "Bt maize" is widely grown in the United States and has been approved for release in Europe.

text: Diseases

text:
Rust
Corn smut or common smut (Ustilago maydis): a fungal disease, known in Mexico as huitlacoche, which is prized by some as a gourmet delicacy in itself
Northern corn leaf blight (Purdue Extension site) (Pioneer site)
Southern corn leaf blight
Maize downy mildew (Peronosclerospora spp.)
Maize dwarf mosaic virus
Maize streak virus
Stewart's wilt (Pantoea stewartii)
Goss's wilt (Clavibacter michiganensis)
Grey leaf spot
Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV)
Stalk rot
Ear rot

text: Uses

text: Human food

text: Maize and cornmeal (ground dried maize) constitute a staple food in many regions of the world.

text: Maize is central to Mexican food. Virtually every dish in Mexican cuisine uses maize. In the form of grain or cornmeal, maize is the main ingredient of tortillas, tamales, pozole, atole and all the dishes based on them, like tacos, quesadillas, chilaquiles, enchiladas, tostadas and many more. In Mexico even a fungus of maize, known as huitlacoche is considered a delicacy.

text: Introduced into Africa by the Portuguese in the 16th century, maize has become Africa's most important staple food crop.[83] Maize meal is made into a thick porridge in many cultures: from the polenta of Italy, the angu of Brazil, the mămăligă of Romania, to cornmeal mush in the US (and hominy grits in the South) or the food called mealie pap in South Africa and sadza, nshima and ugali in other parts of Africa. Maize meal is also used as a replacement for wheat flour, to make cornbread and other baked products. Masa (cornmeal treated with limewater) is the main ingredient for tortillas, atole and many other dishes of Central American food.

text: Popcorn consists of kernels of certain varieties that explode when heated, forming fluffy pieces that are eaten as a snack. Roasted dried maize ears with semihardened kernels, coated with a seasoning mixture of fried chopped spring onions with salt added to the oil, is a popular snack food in Vietnam. Cancha, which are roasted maize chulpe kernels, are a very popular snack food in Peru, and also appears in traditional Peruvian ceviche. An unleavened bread called makki di roti is a popular bread eaten in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.

text: Chicha and chicha morada (purple chicha) are drinks typically made from particular types of maize. The first one is fermented and alcoholic, the second is a soft drink commonly drunk in Peru.

text: Corn flakes are a common breakfast cereal in North America and the United Kingdom, and found in many other countries all over the world.

text: Maize can also be prepared as hominy, in which the kernels are soaked with lye in a process called nixtamalization; or grits, which are coarsely ground hominy. These are commonly eaten in the Southeastern United States, foods handed down from Native Americans, who called the dish sagamite.

text: The Brazilian dessert canjica is made by boiling maize kernels in sweetened milk. Maize can also be harvested and consumed in the unripe state, when the kernels are fully grown but still soft. Unripe maize must usually be cooked to become palatable; this may be done by simply boiling or roasting the whole ears and eating the kernels right off the cob. Sweet corn, a genetic variety that is high in sugars and low in starch, is usually consumed in the unripe state. Such corn on the cob is a common dish in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Cyprus, some parts of South America, and the Balkans, but virtually unheard of in some European countries. Corn on the cob was hawked on the streets of early 19th-century New York City by poor, barefoot "Hot Corn Girls", who were thus the precursors of hot dog carts, churro wagons, and fruit stands seen on the streets of big cities today.[84] The cooked, unripe kernels may also be shaved off the cob and served as a vegetable in side dishes, salads, garnishes, etc. Alternatively, the raw unripe kernels may also be grated off the cobs and processed into a variety of cooked dishes, such as maize purée, tamales, pamonhas, curau, cakes, ice creams, etc.

text: Maize is a major source of starch. Cornstarch (maize flour) is a major ingredient in home cooking and in many industrialized food products. Maize is also a major source of cooking oil (corn oil) and of maize gluten. Maize starch can be hydrolyzed and enzymatically treated to produce syrups, particularly high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener; and also fermented and distilled to produce grain alcohol. Grain alcohol from maize is traditionally the source of Bourbon whiskey. Maize is sometimes used as the starch source for beer. Within the United States, the usage of maize for human consumption constitutes about 1/40th of the amount grown in the country. In the United States and Canada, maize is mostly grown to feed livestock, as forage, silage (made by fermentation of chopped green cornstalks), or grain. Maize meal is also a significant ingredient of some commercial animal food products, such as dog food.

text: Nutritional value

text:
Sweetcorn, yellow, raw
(seeds only)

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy
360 kJ (86 kcal)

Carbohydrates

18.7 g

Starch
5.7 g

Sugars
6.26 g

Dietary fiber
2 g

Fat

1.35 g

Protein

3.27 g

Tryptophan
0.023 g

Threonine
0.129 g

Isoleucine
0.129 g

Leucine
0.348 g

Lysine
0.137 g

Methionine
0.067 g

Cystine
0.026 g

Phenylalanine
0.150 g

Tyrosine
0.123 g

Valine
0.185 g

Arginine
0.131 g

Histidine
0.089 g

Alanine
0.295 g

Aspartic acid
0.244 g

Glutamic acid
0.636 g

Glycine
0.127 g

Proline
0.292 g

Serine
0.153 g

Vitamins

Vitamin A equiv.
lutein zeaxanthin

(1%)
9 μg
644 μg

Thiamine (B1)

(13%)
0.155 mg

Riboflavin (B2)

(5%)
0.055 mg

Niacin (B3)

(12%)
1.77 mg

Pantothenic acid (B5)

(14%)
0.717 mg

Vitamin B6

(7%)
0.093 mg

Folate (B9)

(11%)
42 μg

Vitamin C

(8%)
6.8 mg

Minerals

Iron

(4%)
0.52 mg

Magnesium

(10%)
37 mg

Manganese

(8%)
0.163 mg

Phosphorus

(13%)
89 mg

Potassium

(6%)
270 mg

Zinc

(5%)
0.46 mg

Other constituents

Water
75.96 g

Link to USDA Database entry
One ear of medium size (6-3/4" to 7-1/2" long)
maize has 90 grams of seeds

Units
μg = micrograms • mg = milligrams
IU = International units

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

text: Raw, yellow, sweet maize kernels are composed of 76% water, 19% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and 1% fat (table). In a 100-gram serving, maize kernels provide 86 calories and are a good source (10-19% of the Daily Value) of the B vitamins, thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid (B5) and folate (right table for raw, uncooked kernels, USDA Nutrient Database). In moderate amounts, they also supply dietary fiber and the essential minerals, magnesium and phosphorus whereas other nutrients are in low amounts (table).

text: Maize has suboptimal amounts of the essential amino acids tryptophan and lysine, which accounts for its lower status as a protein source.[85]

text: Feed and fodder for livestock

text: Maize is a major source of both grain feed and fodder for livestock. It is fed to the livestock in various ways. When it is used as a grain crop, the dried kernels are used as feed. They are often kept on the cob for storage in a corn crib, or they may be shelled off for storage in a grain bin. The farm that consumes the feed may produce it, purchase it on the market, or some of both. When the grain is used for feed, the rest of the plant (the corn stover) can be used later as fodder, bedding (litter), or soil amendment. When the whole maize plant (grain plus stalks and leaves) is used for fodder, it is usually chopped all at once and ensilaged, as digestibility and palatability are higher in the ensilaged form than in the dried form. Maize silage is one of the most valuable forages for ruminants.[86] Before the advent of widespread ensilaging, it was traditional to gather the corn into shocks after harvesting, where it dried further. With or without a subsequent move to the cover of a barn, it was then stored for weeks to several months until fed to the livestock. Today ensilaging can occur not only in siloes but also in silage wrappers. However, in the tropics maize can be harvested year-round and fed as green forage to the animals.[87]

text: Chemicals

text: Starch from maize can also be made into plastics, fabrics, adhesives, and many other chemical products.

text: The corn steep liquor, a plentiful watery byproduct of maize wet milling process, is widely used in the biochemical industry and research as a culture medium to grow many kinds of microorganisms.[88]

text: Chrysanthemin is found in purple corn and is used as a food coloring.

text: Bio-fuel

text: "Feed maize" is being used increasingly for heating;[89] specialized corn stoves (similar to wood stoves) are available and use either feed maize or wood pellets to generate heat. Maize cobs are also used as a biomass fuel source. Maize is relatively cheap and home-heating furnaces have been developed which use maize kernels as a fuel. They feature a large hopper that feeds the uniformly sized maize kernels (or wood pellets or cherry pits) into the fire.

text: Maize is increasingly used as a feedstock for the production of ethanol fuel.[90] When considering where to construct an ethanol plant, one of the site selection criteria is to ensure there is locally available feedstock.[91] Ethanol is mixed with gasoline to decrease the amount of pollutants emitted when used to fuel motor vehicles. High fuel prices in mid-2007 led to higher demand for ethanol, which in turn led to higher prices paid to farmers for maize. This led to the 2007 harvest being one of the most profitable maize crops in modern history for farmers. Because of the relationship between fuel and maize, prices paid for the crop now tend to track the price of oil.[citation needed]

text: The price of food is affected to a certain degree by the use of maize for biofuel production. The cost of transportation, production, and marketing are a large portion (80%) of the price of food in the United States. Higher energy costs affect these costs, especially transportation. The increase in food prices the consumer has been seeing is mainly due to the higher energy cost. The effect of biofuel production on other food crop prices is indirect. Use of maize for biofuel production increases the demand, and therefore price of maize. This, in turn, results in farm acreage being diverted from other food crops to maize production. This reduces the supply of the other food crops and increases their prices.[92][93]

text: Maize is widely used in Germany as a feedstock for biogas plants. Here the maize is harvested, shredded then placed in silage clamps from which it is fed into the biogas plants. This process makes use of the whole plant rather than simply using the kernels as in the production of fuel ethanol.

text: A biomass gasification power plant in Strem near Güssing, Burgenland, Austria, began in 2005. Research is being done to make diesel out of the biogas by the Fischer Tropsch method.

text: Increasingly, ethanol is being used at low concentrations (10% or less) as an additive in gasoline (gasohol) for motor fuels to increase the octane rating, lower pollutants, and reduce petroleum use (what is nowadays also known as "biofuels" and has been generating an intense debate regarding the human beings' necessity of new sources of energy, on the one hand, and the need to maintain, in regions such as Latin America, the food habits and culture which has been the essence of civilizations such as the one originated in Mesoamerica; the entry, January 2008, of maize among the commercial agreements of NAFTA has increased this debate, considering the bad labor conditions of workers in the fields, and mainly the fact that NAFTA "opened the doors to the import of maize from the United States, where the farmers who grow it receive multimillion dollar subsidies and other government supports. (...) According to OXFAM UK, after NAFTA went into effect, the price of maize in Mexico fell 70% between 1994 and 2001. The number of farm jobs dropped as well: from 8.1 million in 1993 to 6.8 million in 2002. Many of those who found themselves without work were small-scale maize growers.").[94] However, introduction in the northern latitudes of the US of tropical maize for biofuels, and not for human or animal consumption, may potentially alleviate this.

text: As a result of the US federal government announcing its production target of 35 billion US gallons (130,000,000 m3) of biofuels by 2017, ethanol production will grow to 7 billion US gallons (26,000,000 m3) by 2010, up from 4.5 billion in 2006, boosting ethanol's share of maize demand in the US from 22.6 percent to 36.1 percent.[95]

text: Commodity

text: Maize is bought and sold by investors and price speculators as a tradable commodity using corn futures contracts. These "futures" are traded on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) under ticker symbol C. They are delivered every year in March, May, July, September, and December.[96]

text: Ornamental and other uses

text: Some forms of the plant are occasionally grown for ornamental use in the garden. For this purpose, variegated and colored leaf forms as well as those with colorful ears are used.

text: Corncobs can be hollowed out and treated to make inexpensive smoking pipes, first manufactured in the United States in 1869.

text: An unusual use for maize is to create a "corn maze" (or "maize maze") as a tourist attraction. The idea of a maize maze was introduced by the American Maze Company who created a maze in Pennsylvania in 1993.[97] Traditional mazes are most commonly grown using yew hedges, but these take several years to mature. The rapid growth of a field of maize allows a maze to be laid out using GPS at the start of a growing season and for the maize to grow tall enough to obstruct a visitor's line of sight by the start of the summer. In Canada and the US, these are popular in many farming communities.

text: Maize kernels can be used in place of sand in a sandboxlike enclosure for children's play.[98]

text: Stigmas from female maize flowers, popularly called corn silk, are sold as herbal supplements.[citation needed]

text: Maize is used as a fish bait, called "dough balls". It is particularly popular in Europe for coarse fishing.

text: Additionally, feed corn is sometimes used by hunters to bait animals such as deer or wild hogs.

text: United States usage breakdown

text: The breakdown of usage of the 12.1-billion-bushel (307-million-tonne) 2008 US maize crop was as follows, according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report by the USDA.[99]

text:
Use
Amount

million bushels
million tonnes
percentage

livestock feed
5,250
133.4
43.4

ethanol production
3,650
92.7
30.2

exports
1,850
47.0
15.3

production of starch, corn oil, sweeteners (HFCS, etc.)
943
24.0
7.8

human consumption—grits, corn flour, corn meal, beverage alcohol
327
8.3
2.7

text: In the US since 2009/2010, maize feedstock use for ethanol production has somewhat exceeded direct use for livestock feed; maize use for fuel ethanol was 5,130 million bushels (130 million tonnes) in the 2013/2014 marketing year.[100]

text: A fraction of the maize feedstock dry matter used for ethanol production is usefully recovered as DDGS (dried distillers grains with solubles). In the 2010/2011 marketing year, about 29.1 million tonnes of DDGS were fed to US livestock and poultry.[101] Because starch utilization in fermentation for ethanol production leaves other grain constituents more concentrated in the residue, the feed value per kg of DDGS, with regard to ruminant-metabolizable energy and protein, exceeds that of the grain. Feed value for monogastric animals, such as swine and poultry, is somewhat lower than for ruminants.[101]

text: Comparison to other staple foods

text:
Nutrient contents in %DV of common foods (raw, uncooked) per 100 g

[show]
Protein
Fiber
Vitamins
Minerals

Food
DV
Q
DV
A
B1
B2
B3
B5
B6
B9
B12
Ch.
C
D
E
K
Ca
Fe
Mg
P
K
Na
Zn
Cu
Mn
Se

cooking Reduction %

10
30
20
25

25
35
0
0
30

10
15
20
10
20
5
10
25

Corn
20
55
6
1
13
4
16
4
19
19
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
11
31
34
15
1
20
10
42
0

Rice
14
71
1.3
0
12
3
11
20
5
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
9
6
7
2
0
8
9
49
22

Wheat
27
51
40
0
28
7
34
19
21
11
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
20
36
51
12
0
28
28
151
128

Soybean(dry)
73
132
31
0
58
51
8
8
19
94
0
24
10
0
4
59
28
87
70
70
51
0
33
83
126
25

Pigeon pea(dry)
42
91
50
1
43
11
15
13
13
114
0
0
0
0
0
0
13
29
46
37
40
1
18
53
90
12

Potato
4
112
7.3
0
5
2
5
3
15
4
0
0
33
0
0
2
1
4
6
6
12
0
2
5
8
0

Sweet potato
3
82
10
284
5
4
3
8
10
3
0
0
4
0
1
2
3
3
6
5
10
2
2
8
13
1

Spinach
6
119
7.3
188
5
11
4
1
10
49
0
4.5
47
0
10
604
10
15
20
5
16
3
4
6
45
1

Dill
7
32
7
154
4
17
8
4
9
38
0
0
142
0
0
0
21
37
14
7
21
3
6
7
63
0

Carrots
2

9.3
334
4
3
5
3
7
5
0
0
10
0
3
16
3
2
3
4
9
3
2
2
7
0

Guava
5
24
18
12
4
2
5
5
6
12
0
0
381
0
4
3
2
1
5
4
12
0
2
11
8
1

Papaya
1
7
5.6
22
2
2
2
2
1
10
0
0
103
0
4
3
2
1
2
1
7
0
0
1
1
1

Pumpkin
2
56
1.6
184
3
6
3
3
3
4
0
0
15
0
5
1
2
4
3
4
10
0
2
6
6
0

Sunflower oil
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
205
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Egg
25
136
0
10
5
28
0
14
7
12
22
45
0
9
5
0
5
10
3
19
4
6
7
5
2
45

Milk
6
138
0
2
3
11
1
4
2
1
7
2.6
0
0
0
0
11
0
2
9
4
2
3
1
0
5

Chicken Liver
34
149
0
222
20
105
49
62
43
147
276

30
0
4
0
1
50
5
30
7
3
18
25
13
78

text: Ch. = Choline; Ca = Calcium; Fe = Iron; Mg = Magnesium; P = Phosphorus; K = Potassium; Na = Sodium; Zn = Zinc; Cu = Copper; Mn = Manganese; Se = Selenium; %DV = % daily value i.e. % of DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) Note: All nutrient values including protein and fiber are in %DV per 100 grams of the food item. Significant values are highlighted in light Gray color and bold letters. [102][103] Cooking reduction = % Maximum typical reduction in nutrients due to boiling without draining for ovo-lacto-vegetables group[104][105] Q = Quality of Protein in terms of completeness without adjusting for digestability.[105]

text: The following table shows the nutrient content of maize and major staple foods in a raw harvested form. Raw forms are not edible and cannot be digested. These must be sprouted, or prepared and cooked for human consumption. In sprouted or cooked form, the relative nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of each of these staples are different from that of raw form of these staples reported in the table below.

text:
Nutrient content of major staple foods per 100 g portion[106]

Nutrient component:
Maize / Corn[A]
Rice (white)[B]
Rice (brown)[I]
Wheat[C]
Potato[D]
Cassava[E]
Soybean (Green)[F]
Sweet potato[G]
Yam[Y]
Sorghum[H]
Plantain[Z]
RDA

Water (g)
10
12
10
13
79
60
68
77
70
9
65
3000

Energy (kJ)
1528
1528
1549
1369
322
670
615
360
494
1419
511
8368–10,460

Protein (g)
9.4
7.1
7.9
12.6
2.0
1.4
13.0
1.6
1.5
11.3
1.3
50

Fat (g)
4.74
0.66
2.92
1.54
0.09
0.28
6.8
0.05
0.17
3.3
0.37

Carbohydrates (g)
74
80
77
71
17
38
11
20
28
75
32
130

Fiber (g)
7.3
1.3
3.5
12.2
2.2
1.8
4.2
3
4.1
6.3
2.3
30

Sugar (g)
0.64
0.12
0.85
0.41
0.78
1.7
0
4.18
0.5
0
15

Calcium (mg)
7
28
23
29
12
16
197
30
17
28
3
1000

Iron (mg)
2.71
0.8
1.47
3.19
0.78
0.27
3.55
0.61
0.54
4.4
0.6
8

Magnesium (mg)
127
25
143
126
23
21
65
25
21
0
37
400

Phosphorus (mg)
210
115
333
288
57
27
194
47
55
287
34
700

Potassium (mg)
287
115
223
363
421
271
620
337
816
350
499
4700

Sodium (mg)
35
5
7
2
6
14
15
55
9
6
4
1500

Zinc (mg)
2.21
1.09
2.02
2.65
0.29
0.34
0.99
0.3
0.24
0
0.14
11

Copper (mg)
0.31
0.22

0.43
0.11
0.10
0.13
0.15
0.18
-
0.08
0.9

Manganese (mg)
0.49
1.09
3.74
3.99
0.15
0.38
0.55
0.26
0.40
-
-
2.3

Selenium (μg)
15.5
15.1

70.7
0.3
0.7
1.5
0.6
0.7
0
1.5
55

Vitamin C (mg)
0
0
0
0
19.7
20.6
29
2.4
17.1
0
18.4
90

Thiamin (B1)(mg)
0.39
0.07
0.40
0.30
0.08
0.09
0.44
0.08
0.11
0.24
0.05
1.2

Riboflavin (B2)(mg)
0.20
0.05
0.09
0.12
0.03
0.05
0.18
0.06
0.03
0.14
0.05
1.3

Niacin (B3) (mg)
3.63
1.6
5.09
5.46
1.05
0.85
1.65
0.56
0.55
2.93
0.69
16

Pantothenic acid (B5) (mg)
0.42
1.01
1.49
0.95
0.30
0.11
0.15
0.80
0.31
-
0.26
5

Vitamin B6 (mg)
0.62
0.16
0.51
0.3
0.30
0.09
0.07
0.21
0.29
-
0.30
1.3

Folate Total (B9) (μg)
19
8
20
38
16
27
165
11
23
0
22
400

Vitamin A (IU)
214
0
0
9
2
13
180
14187
138
0
1127
5000

Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol (mg)
0.49
0.11
0.59
1.01
0.01
0.19
0
0.26
0.39
0
0.14
15

Vitamin K1 (μg)
0.3
0.1
1.9
1.9
1.9
1.9
0
1.8
2.6
0
0.7
120

Beta-carotene (μg)
97
0

5
1
8
0
8509
83
0
457
10,500

Lutein+zeaxanthin (μg)
1355
0

220
8
0
0
0
0
0
30

Saturated fatty acids (g)
0.67
0.18
0.58
0.26
0.03
0.07
0.79
0.02
0.04
0.46
0.14

Monounsaturated fatty acids (g)
1.25
0.21
1.05
0.2
0.00
0.08
1.28
0.00
0.01
0.99
0.03

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (g)
2.16
0.18
1.04
0.63
0.04
0.05
3.20
0.01
0.08
1.37
0.07

text:
A yellow corn

B raw unenriched long-grain white rice

C hard red winter wheat

D raw potato with flesh and skin

E raw cassava

F raw green soybeans

G raw sweet potato

H raw sorghum

Y raw yam

Z raw plantains

I raw long-grain brown rice

text: Hazards

text: Pellagra

text: When maize was first introduced into farming systems other than those used by traditional native-American peoples, it was generally welcomed with enthusiasm for its productivity. However, a widespread problem of malnutrition soon arose wherever maize was introduced as a staple food. This was a mystery, since these types of malnutrition were not normally seen among the indigenous Americans, for whom maize was the principal staple food.[107]

text: It was eventually discovered that the indigenous Americans had learned to soak maize in alkali-water—made with ashes and lime (calcium oxide) since at least 1200–1500 BC by Mesoamericans and North Americans—which liberates the B-vitamin niacin, the lack of which was the underlying cause of the condition known as pellagra.[108]

text: Maize was introduced into the diet of nonindigenous Americans without the necessary cultural knowledge acquired over thousands of years in the Americas. In the late 19th century, pellagra reached epidemic proportions in parts of the southern US, as medical researchers debated two theories for its origin: the deficiency theory (which was eventually shown to be true) said that pellagra was due to a deficiency of some nutrient, and the germ theory said that pellagra was caused by a germ transmitted by stable flies. A third theory, promoted by the eugenicist Charles Davenport, held that people only contracted pellagra if they were susceptible to it due to certain "constitutional, inheritable" traits of the affected individual.[109]

text: 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 also contributed to its demise. Pellagra still exists today in food-poor areas and refugee camps where people survive on donated maize.Thompson, Janice J.; Manore, Melinda; Vaughan, Linda (15 January 2016). "Nutrients involved in energy metabolism". The Science of Nutrition. Pearson Education. pp. 292–321. ISBN 978-0-13-429880-1.  Also ISBN 978-0-321-64316-2.</ref>

text: Allergy

text: Maize contains lipid transfer protein, an indigestible protein that survives cooking. This protein has been linked to a rare and understudied allergy to maize in humans.[110] The allergic reaction can cause skin rash, swelling or itching of mucous membranes, diarrhea, vomiting, asthma and, in severe cases, anaphylaxis. It is unclear how common this allergy is in the general population.

text: Art

text: Maize has been an essential crop in the Andes since the pre-Columbian era. The Moche culture from Northern Peru made ceramics from earth, water, and fire. This pottery was a sacred substance, formed in significant shapes and used to represent important themes. Maize represented anthropomorphically as well as naturally.[111]

text: In the United States, maize ears along with tobacco leaves are carved into the capitals of columns in the United States Capitol building. Maize itself is sometimes used for temporary architectural detailing when the intent is to celebrate the fall season, local agricultural productivity and culture. Bundles of dried maize stalks are often displayed often along with pumpkins, gourds and straw in autumnal displays outside homes and businesses. A well-known example of architectural use is the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, which uses cobs and ears of colored maize to implement a mural design that is recycled annually. Another well known example is the Field of Corn in Dublin, Ohio, where a hundreds on concrete ears of corn lay in a grassy field.

text: A maize stalk with two ripe ears is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 1 lipa coin, minted since 1993.[112]


document_title: Electricity pricing

question_text: who is the entity that decides the rate of residential electricity price

root

text: Electricity pricing

text: Rate structure[edit]

text: In standard regulated monopoly markets, electricity rates typically vary for residential, commercial and industrial customers. The rates are determined through a regulatory process that is overseen by a public utility commission.

tag: p

text: Prices for any single class of electricity customer can vary by time-of-day or by the capacity or nature of the supply circuit (e.g., 5 kW, 12 kW, 18 kW, 24 kW are typical in some of the large developed countries); for industrial customers, single-phase vs. 3-phase, etc. Prices are usually highest for commercial and residential consumers because of the additional costs associated with stepping down their distribution voltage.  The price of power for industrial customers is relatively the same as the wholesale price of electricity, because they consume more power at higher voltages. Supplying electricity at transmission-level high voltages is more efficient, and therefore less expensive.

text: The two most common distinctions between customer classes are load size and usage profile.  In many cases, time-of-use (TOU) and load factor are more significant factors than load size.  Contribution to peak-load is an extremely important factor in determining customer rate class.  Consumer loads may be characterized as peak, off-peak, baseload, and seasonal. Utilities rate each load differently, because each has different implications for a power system.

text: The inclusion of renewable energy distributed generation and AMI in the modern electricity grid has introduced many alternative rate structures.  Simple (or fixed) rate, tiered (or step) rate, TOU, demand rates, tiered within TOU, seasonal, and weekend/holiday rates are among the few residential rate structures offered by modern utilities.  The simple rate charges a specific dollar per kilowatt ($/kWh) consumed.  The tiered rate is one of the more common residential rate programs, and it charges a higher rate as customer usage increases. TOU and demand rates are structured to help maintain/control a utility’s peak demand.  The concept at its core is to discourage customers from contributing to peak-load times by charging them more money to use power at that time.

text: A feed-in tariff (FIT) is an energy-supply policy that supports the development of renewable power generation.  FITs give financial benefits to renewable power producers.  In the United States, FIT policies guarantee that eligible renewable generators will have their electricity purchased by their utility.[2]  The FIT contract contains a guaranteed period of time (usually 15-20 years) that payments in dollars per kilowatt hour ($/kWh) will be made for the full output of the system.

text: Net metering is another billing mechanism that supports the development of renewable power generation, specifically, solar power. The mechanism credits solar energy system owners for the electricity their system adds to the grid. Residential customers with rooftop PV system will typically generate more electricity than their home consumes during daylight hours, so net metering is particularly advantageous. During this time where generation is greater than consumption, the home’s electricity meter will run backwards to provide a credit on the homeowner’s electricity bill.[3]

text: The cost also differs by the power source.  The net present value of the unit-cost of electricity over the lifetime of a generating asset is known as the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).  LCOE is the best value to compare different methods of generation on a consistent basis.

text: In the U.S. the estimated LCOE for different sources are[4]:

text:
Generation Source
LCOE (2015$/kWh)

Gas Combined Cycle
0.042-0.078

Coal
0.06-0.143

Nuclear
0.112-0.183

Solar PV, Rooftop Residential
0.187-0.319

Solar PV, Utility
0.046-0.053

Wind
0.03-0.06

tag: table

text: Price comparison[edit]

text: The table below shows simple comparison of electricity tariffs in industrialised countries and territories around the world, expressed in US dollars. The comparison does not take into account factors including fluctuating international exchange rates, a country's purchasing power, government electricity subsidies or retail discounts that are often available in deregulated electricity markets.[5]

text: For example, in 2012, Hawaii residents had the highest average residential electricity rate in the United States (37.34¢/kWh), while Louisiana residents had the lowest average residential electricity costs (8.37¢/kWh). Even in the contiguous United States the gap is significant, with New York residents having the highest average residential electricity rates in the lower 48 U.S. states (17.62¢/kWh).[6]

text: Global comparison[edit]

text:
Country/territory
US cents/kWh
US cents/megajoule
Date
Source

American Samoa
7001254000000000000♠25.4 to 30

May 2017
[7]

Argentina
7000310000000000000♠3.1[a] (subsidized)
0.86 (Buenos Aires)
000000002006-01-01-00002006
[5]

Argentina (Concordia)
7001191300000000000♠19.13[a]
5.31
000000002013-06-14-0000Jun 14, 2013

Australia
varies by state and by time of day (peak/shoulder/off peak) from 15-54 cents AUD per kWh; service availability charge of $0.95 AUD a day
6.11 to 11.06
000000002018-02-06-0000Feb 6, 2018
[8][9][10]

Bahrain
6999790000000000000♠0.79 to 4.23 (0.79 for first 3000 kWh; 2.38 for 3001-5000 kWh and 4.23 for every additional kWh. Exchange rate used from BHD to USD is 0.378)

Aug 19, 2015
[11]

Bangladesh
7000295000000000000♠2.95 to 9.24

000000002014-03-13-0000Mar 13, 2014
[12]

Belarus
7001138000000000000♠13.8 to 69.8

000000002016-06-21-0000Jun 21, 2016
[13]

Belgium
7001290800000000000♠29.08
8.08
000000002011-11-01-0000Nov 1, 2011
[14]

Bhutan

000000002017-06-18-0000Jun 18, 2017
[15]

Brunei
0.72 to 8.64 (0.72 for first 600 kWh; 5.76 for 601-2000 kWh; 7.20 for 2001-4000 kWh and 8.64 for every additional kWh. Exchange rate used from BRR to USD is 0.72)

000000002017-06-18-0000Jun 18, 2017
[16]

Bulgaria
7001133800000000000♠13.38 day (between 7:00-23:00 DST); 9.13 night
2.54 to 3.72
000000002014-10-29-0000Oct 29, 2014
[17][18][19]

Brazil
7001120000000000000♠12.00 to 25.00 varying by state and Electricity Service Provider

000000002016-07-07-0000Jul 7, 2016
[20]

Cambodia
7001156300000000000♠15.63 to 21.00 in Phnom Penh
4.34 to 5.83
000000002014-02-28-0000Feb 28, 2014
[21]

Canada, Ontario
7001146000000000000♠14.6

000000002017-01-01-00002017-000000002018-01-01-00002018
[22]

Canada, Ontario, Toronto
7000651990000000000♠6.52 to 11.69 depending on time of day plus transmission, delivery, and other charges of about 3.75 per kWh
1.81 to 3.25
000000002014-02-09-0000Feb 9, 2014
[23]

Canada, Quebec
7000460000000099999♠4.60 for the first 33 kWh/day then 7.05 + 32.14/day for subscription fee (all converted to USD on July 17, 2017)

000000002017-01-01-00002017
[24]

China
4 to 4.5

000000002014-01-01-00002014
[25]

Chile
7001231100000000000♠23.11

000000002011-01-01-0000Jan 1, 2011
[26][27]

Colombia (Bogota)
7001180500000000000♠18.05

000000002013-06-01-0000Jun 1, 2013
[28]

Cook Islands
7001346000000000000♠34.6 to 50.2

[29]

Croatia
7001175500000000000♠17.55

000000002008-07-01-0000Jul 1, 2008
[30]

Curaçao
7001265800000099999♠26.58 to 35.08

000000002017-08-01-0000Aug 1, 2017
[31]

Denmark
7001330000000000000♠33

000000002015-05-01-0000May 1, 2015
[14]

United Arab Emirates- Dubai
7000626000000000000♠6.26 to 10.35 (plus 1.63 fuel surcharge)

[32]

United Arab Emirates- Abu Dhabi
5000000000000000000♠0 to 8.23 (i.e. AED 0 to AED 0.305)

000000002017-01-01-00002017
[33]

Egypt
Priced into sections at a kWh/month, subsidized[a]
6999420000000000000♠0.42 @ 0-50 kWh/M
6999820009999900000♠0.82 @ 51-100 kWh/M
6999900000000000000♠0.9 @ 0-200 kWh/M
7000135000000000000♠1.35 @ 201-350 kWh/M
7000191000000000000♠1.91 @ 351-650 kWh/M
7000337000000000000♠3.37 @ 651-1000 kWh/M
7000416000000000000♠4.16 @ 1000+ kWh/M

000000002014-07-17-0000Jul 17, 2014
[34][35]

Ethiopia
7000670000000000000♠6.7 to 7.7[a]

000000002012-12-31-0000Dec 31, 2012
[36]

Fiji
7001120000000000000♠12 to 14.2

[29]

Finland
7001206509999900000♠20.65

000000002011-11-01-0000Nov 1, 2011
[14]

France
7001193900000000000♠19.39

000000002011-11-01-0000Nov 1, 2011
[14]

Georgia
7000800000000000000♠8.00

000000002015-07-24-0000Jul 24, 2015
[37]

Gibraltar
7001144000000000000♠14.4

000000002018-01-04-0000Jan 4, 2018
[38]

Germany
7001350000000000000♠35.00

000000002017-03-01-0000Mar 1, 2017
[39]

Romania
7001184009999900000♠18.40

000000002013-06-26-0000Jun 26, 2013
[40]

Guyana
7001268000000000000♠26.80

000000002012-04-01-0000Apr 1, 2012
[41]

Switzerland
7001250000000000000♠25.00

000000002014-01-06-0000Jan 6, 2014
[42]

Hungary
7001234400000000000♠23.44

000000002011-11-01-0000Nov 1, 2011
[14]

Hong Kong
7001120400000099999♠12.04 to 24.05

000000002013-01-01-0000Jan 1, 2013
[43][44]

India
6999100000000000000♠0.1 to 18 (Average 7)

000000002014-03-01-0000March 1, 2014
[45]

Indonesia

R-1/450 VA
Subsidized
3.07

R-1/900 VA
Subsidized
4.1

R-1/900 VA-RTM (Capable Household)
Non-subsidized
9.4

R-1/1300 VA
Non-subsidized
10.27

R-1/2200 VA
Non-subsidized
10.27

R-2/3500 VA, 4400 VA, 5500 VA
Non-subsidized
10.27

R-3/6600 VA and above
Non-subsidized
10.27

Nov 30, 2017
[46]

Iceland
7000554000000000000♠5.54

Nov 8, 2015
[47]

Iran
7000200000000000000♠2 to 19

000000002011-07-01-0000Jul 1, 2011

Iraq
Residential pricing per kWh used, subsidized[a]
7000250000000000000♠2.5 @ 0-500 kWh/M
7000417000000000000♠4.17 @ 501-1000 kWh/M
7000750000000000000♠7.5 @ 1001-1500 kWh/M
7001116700000000000♠11.67 @ 1501-2000 kWh/M
7001141700000000000♠14.17 @ 2001-3000 kWh/M
7001166700000000000♠16.67 @ 3001-4000 kWh/M
7001187500000000000♠18.75 @ > 4001 kWh/M

000000002015-04-08-0000Apr 8, 2015
[48]

Ireland
7001230600000000000♠23.06

000000002016-11-01-0000November 1, 2016
[49]

Israel
7001153500000000000♠15.35[a]

000000002017-05-08-0000May 8, 2017
[50]

Italy
7001283900000000000♠28.39

000000002011-11-01-0000Nov 1, 2011
[14]

Jamaica
7001447000000000000♠44.7

000000002013-12-04-0000Dec 4, 2013
[51]

Japan
7001200000000000000♠20 to 24

000000002009-12-31-0000Dec 31, 2009
[52][53]

Jordan
7000500000000000000♠5[a] to 33

000000002012-01-30-0000Jan 30, 2012
[54]

Kazakhstan
4.8 to 8.2

000000002016-12-13-0000Dec 13, 2016

Kiribati
7001327000000000000♠32.7

[55]

South Korea
Priced into a sliding scale at a kWh/month, residential service (low-voltage)[a]
8.1 @ 0-200 kWh/M
16.4 @ 201-400 kWh/M
24.5 @ 401- kWh/M
62.0 @ 1001- kWh/M (only for Jul-Aug, Dec-Feb)
Demand charge(0.76-6.38USD) 10% VAT, 3.7% green energy fund are not included

000000002016-12-01-0000Dec 1, 2016
[56]

Kuwait
6999300000000000000♠0.3 to 3

000000002016-01-01-0000Jan 1, 2016
[57]

Laos
7001119500000000000♠11.95 for >150kWh, 4.86 for 26-150 kWh, 4.08 for 0-25 kWh

000000002014-02-28-0000Feb 28, 2014
[58][59]

Latvia
7001182300000000000♠18.23 calculated for 100kWh including transport, green energy tax and VAT

000000002017-06-14-0000Jun 14, 2017
[60]

Lithuania
7001120000000000000♠12

000000002016-07-01-0000July 1, 2016
[61]

Macedonia
7000700000000000000♠7 to 10
industrial-14

000000002013-08-01-0000Aug 1, 2013
[62]

Malaysia
Domestic consumer pricing per kWh used, subsidized
7000495000000000000♠4.95 @ 1 to 200 kWh
7000759000000000000♠7.59 @ 201 to 300 kWh
7001117300000000000♠11.73 @ 301 to 600 kWh
7001124100000000000♠12.41 @ 601 to 900 kWh
7001129800000000000♠12.98 @ 901 kWh onwards
(exchange rate of 4.4 MYR to 1 USD on Nov 24, 2016)

000000002014-01-01-0000Jan 1, 2014
[63]

Marshall Islands
7001326000000000000♠32.6 to 41.6

[64]

Mexico
7001192800000000000♠19.28[b]

000000002012-08-22-0000Aug 22, 2012
[65][66]

Moldova
7001111100000000000♠11.11

000000002011-04-01-0000Apr 1, 2011
[67]

Myanmar
7000360000000000000♠3.6

000000002014-02-28-0000Feb 28, 2014

Nepal
7000720000000000000♠7.2 to 11.2

000000002012-07-16-0000Jul 16, 2012
[68]

Netherlands
7001288900000000000♠28.89

000000002011-11-01-0000Nov 1, 2011
[14]

New Caledonia
7001262000000000000♠26.2 to 62.7

[29]

New Zealand
7001191509999900000♠19.15

000000002012-04-19-0000Apr 19, 2012

Nicaragua
Priced into a sliding scale at a kWh/month,[a] residential T-0
7001100000000000000♠10 @ 0-25 kWh/M
7001210000000000000♠21 @ 26-50 kWh/M
7001220000000000000♠22 @ 51-100 kWh/M
7001290000000000000♠29 @ 101-150 kWh/M
7001270000000000000♠27 @ 151-500 kWh/M
7001430000000000000♠43 @ 501-1000 kWh/M
7001480000000000000♠48 @ 1000+ kWh/M

000000002014-09-01-0000Sep 1, 2014
[69]

Niue
7001443000000000000♠44.3

[55]

Nigeria
7000258000000000000♠2.58 to 16.55

000000002013-07-02-0000Jul 2, 2013
[70]

Norway
7001159000000000000♠15.9

000000002013-07-25-0000Jul 25, 2013

Pakistan
General Supply Tariff - Residential
7000200000000000000♠2 < 50 kWh/M
7000579000000000000♠5.79 @ 1-100 kWh/M
7000811009999900000♠8.11 @ 101-200 kWh/M
7001102100000000000♠10.21 @ 201-300 kWh/M
7001160000000000000♠16 @ 301-700 kWh/M
7001180000000000000♠18 >700 kWh/M

000000002015-07-14-000014 Jul 2015
[71]

Palau
7001228300000099999♠22.83

[55]

Papua New Guinea
7001196000000000000♠19.6 to 38.8

[29]

Paraguay
General Supply Tariff - Residential
7000566000000000000♠5.66 @ 0 - 50 kWh/M
7000636000000000000♠6.36 @ 51 - 150 kWh/M
7000664000000000000♠6.64 @ 151 - 300 kWh/M
7000734000000000000♠7.34 @ 301 - 500 kWh/M
7000764000000000000♠7.64 @ 501 - 1000 kWh/M
7000792000000000000♠7.92 >1000 kWh/M
General Supply Tariff - Industrial
7000736000000000000♠7.36 kWh/M
(exchange rate: 1 USD = 5,500 PYG)

000000002017-01-01-00002017
[72]

Peru
17.70

January 19, 2018
[73]

Philippines
18.22
Palawan 25.2

000000002015-10-07-0000October 7, 2015
[74]

Portugal
7001252500000000000♠25.25

000000002011-11-01-0000Nov 1, 2011
[14]

Russia
7000240000000000000♠2.4 to 14

000000002011-11-01-0000Nov 1, 2011
[14]

Rwanda
7001220000000000000♠22 to 23.6

000000002016-01-01-00002016
[75]

Saudi Arabia
for Residential (1-6000 Kwh = 4.8 cents, more 6000 kwh = 8 cents)
for Commercial (1-6000 Kwh = 5.3 cents, more 6000 kwh = 8 cents)
for Agricultural & Charities(1-6000 Kwh = 4.3 cents, more 6000 kwh = 5.3 cents)
for Governmental (kwh = 8.5 cents)
for Industrial (kwh = 4.8 cents)
for Private educational, private medical(kwh = 4.8 cents)

000000002018-01-15-0000Jan 15, 2018
[76]

Serbia
7000393000000000000♠3.93 to 13.48, average ~6,1[d]

000000002013-02-28-0000Feb 28, 2013
[77]

Singapore
14.97

000000002017-06-16-0000Jun 16, 2017
[78]

Spain
About €0,23 per KWh
(21% VAT + another 6% electricity tax are included in this price)

000000002017-12-01-0000December 2017
[79]

Sri Lanka
Priced into sections at a kWh/month, subsidized[a]
7000162000000000000♠1.62 @ 0-30 kWh/M + fixed charge/M USD 0.20
7000316000000000000♠3.16 @ 31-60 kWh/M + fixed charge/M USD 0.39
7000511000000000000♠5.11 @ 0-60 kWh/M + fixed charge/M N/A
7000651000000000000♠6.51 @ 61-90 kWh/M + fixed charge/M USD 0.59
7001180900000000000♠18.09 @ 91-120 kWh/M + fixed charge/M USD 3.14
7001208600000000000♠20.86 @ 121-181 kWh/M + fixed charge/M USD 3.14
7001293300000000000♠29.33 @ > 180+ kWh/M + fixed charge/M USD 3.53
(exchange rate of 153.03 LKR to 1 USD on Aug 23, 2017)

000000002017-08-23-0000Aug 23, 2017
[80][81]

Solomon Islands
7001880000000000000♠88 to 99

[82]

South Africa
7001150000000000000♠15

000000002015-09-29-0000Sep 29, 2015
[83][84]

Surinam
7000390000000000000♠3.90 to 4.84

000000002013-11-20-0000Nov 20, 2013
[85]

Sweden
7000833000000000000♠8.33

000000002015-02-03-0000Feb 3, 2015
[14]

Tahiti
7001250000000000000♠25 to 33.1

[29]

Taiwan
Priced into a sliding scale at a kWh/month, residential service (low-voltage)[a]
5.4 @ 0-120 kWh/M
7.9 @ 121-330 kWh/M (only for Jun - Sep)
11.7 @ 331-500 kWh/M (only for Jun - Sep)
15.3 @ 501-700 kWh/M (only for Jun - Sep)
18.1 @ 701-1000 kWh/M (only for Jun - Sep)
20.4 @ 1000- kWh/M (only for Jun - Sep)

7.0 @ 121-330 kWh/M (only for Oct - May)
9.6 @ 331-500 kWh/M (only for Oct - May)
12.6 @ 501-700 kWh/M (only for Oct - May)
14.8 @ 701-1000 kWh/M (only for Oct - May)
16.1 @ 1000- kWh/M (only for Oct - May)
(exchange rate of 30 TWD to 1 USD)

000000002017-08-27-0000Aug 27, 2017
[86]

Thailand
Priced into a sliding scale at a kWh/month, residential service (low-voltage)[a]
7.1 First 15 kWh (1st – 15th )
9 Next 10 kWh (16th – 25th)
9.81 Next 10 kWh (26th – 35th)
10.98 Next 65 kWh (36th – 100th)
11.26 Next 50 kWh (101st – 150th)
12.79 Next 250 kWh (151st – 400th)
13.4 Over 400 kWh (up from 401st)

calculation at exchange rate 33 Baht to 1 dollar

000000002018-01-05-0000January 5, 2018
[87]

Tonga
7001470000000000000♠47

000000002011-06-01-0000Jun 1, 2011
[29]

Trinidad and Tobago
6998300000000000000♠0.03

000000002015-07-08-0000July 8, 2015
[88]

Turkey
11.20 residential (Low voltage)
11.29 business (Low voltage)
8.78 industry (Medium voltage)

000000002016-07-01-0000Jul 1, 2016
[89]

Turks and Caicos Islands
40.12

000000002018-04-27-0000April 27, 2018
[90]

Tuvalu
7001365509999900000♠36.55

[55]

Uganda
4.44 (first 15 kWh in a month for domestic consumers)
19.26 (above 15 kWh in a month for domestic consumers)

Aug 9, 2016
[91]

Ukraine
7000260000000000000♠2.6 to 10.8

000000002017-01-01-00002017
[92][93]

United Kingdom
7001220000000000000♠22

000000002015-05-01-0000May 1, 2015
[14][94]

United States
7000800000000000000♠8 to 17 ; 37[c] 43[c]

000000002012-09-01-0000Sep 1, 2012
[95][96]

United States Virgin Islands
7001489000000000000♠48.9 to 51.9

000000002014-10-01-0000Oct 1, 2014
[97]

Uruguay
7001170700000000000♠17.07 to 26.48

000000002014-02-11-0000Feb 11, 2014
[98]

Uzbekistan
7000495000000000000♠4.95

000000002011-01-01-00002011
[99]

Vanuatu
7001600000000000000♠60

[29]

Venezuela
6998160000000000000♠0.016 at commonly used unofficial exchange rate (3684 VEF/USD) or 0.089 cents at official exchange rate (678 VEF/USD)

2016-12-01
[100]

Vietnam
7000620000000000000♠6.20 to 10.01

000000002011-01-01-00002011
[101]

Western Samoa
7001305000000000000♠30.5 to 34.7

[29]

Zambia
Residential tariff: first 200kWh in a month, it is about 2 cents (exchange rate varies)
Then above 200kWh usage in a month, rate is 9 cents.

16 August 2017
[102]

text: a Denotes countries with government subsidized electricity tariffs.[103][104][105]

text: b Mexico subsidizes electricity according to consumption limits. More than 500kWh consumed bimonthly receive no subsidies. Only 1% of Mexico's population pays this tariff.[106]

text: c Hawaii.

text: d Prices don't include VAT (20%)

text: e San Diego, California high-tier

text: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) also publishes an incomplete list[107] of international energy prices, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) provides a thorough, quarterly review.[108]

text: Eurostat[edit]

text: The following table shows electricity prices both for household and non-household consumers within the European Union (EU) and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Albania, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova and Ukraine.[110]

text:
H1 2017 Electricity prices (Euro per kWh)[110]

Country
Households
Non-Household

 Albania
0.084
-

 Austria
0.195
0.093

 Belgium
0.280
0.113

 Bosnia and Herzegovina
0.086
0.059

 Bulgaria
0.096
0.076

 Croatia
0.120
0.087

 Cyprus
0.186
0.141

 Czech Republic
0.144
0.069

 Denmark
0.305
0.082

 Estonia
0.121
0.087

 Finland
0.158
0.067

 Republic of Macedonia
0.082
0.056

 France
0.169
0.099

 Germany
0.305
0.152

 Greece
0.194
0.107

 Hungary
0.113
0.074

 Iceland
0.160
0.080

 Ireland
0.231
0.124

 Italy
0.214
0.148

 Kosovo
0.066
0.080

 Latvia
0.159
0.118

 Liechtenstein
0.172
0.130

 Lithuania
0.112
0.084

 Luxembourg
0.162
0.078

 Malta
0.128
0.141

 Moldova
0.098
0.083

 Montenegro
0.097
0.077

 Netherlands
0.156
0.082

 Norway
0.164
0.071

 Poland
0.146
0.088

 Portugal
0.228
0.115

 Romania
0.120
0.077

 Serbia
0.066
0.064

 Slovakia
0.144
0.115

 Slovenia
0.161
0.078

 Spain
0.230
0.106

 Sweden
0.194
0.065

 Turkey
0.105
0.063

 Ukraine
0.039
-

 United Kingdom
0.177
0.127

text: Electricity price forecasting[edit]

text: Electricity price forecasting is the process of using mathematical models to predict what electricity prices will be in the future.

text: Forecasting methodology[edit]

text: The simplest model for day ahead forecasting is to ask each generation source to bid on blocks of generation and choose the cheapest bids. If not enough bids are submitted, the price is increased. If too many bids are submitted the price can reach zero or become negative. The offer price includes the generation cost as well as the transmission cost, along with any profit. Power can be sold or purchased from adjoining power pools.[111][112][113]

text: The concept of independent system operators (ISOs) fosters competition for generation among wholesale market participants by unbundling operation of transmission and generation.  ISOs use bid-based markets to determine economic dispatch.[114]

text: Wind and solar power are non-dispatchable. Such power is normally sold before any other bids, at a pre-determined rate for each supplier. Any excess is sold to another grid operator, or stored, using pumped-storage hydroelectricity, or in the worst case, curtailed.[115] Curtailment could potentially significantly impact solar power’s economic and environmental benefits at greater PV penetration levels.[116] Allocation is done by bidding.[117]

text: The effect of the recent introduction of smart grids and integrating distributed renewable generation has been increased uncertainty of future supply, demand and prices.[118]  This uncertainty has driven much research into the topic of forecasting.

text: Driving factors[edit]

text: Electricity cannot be stored as easily as gas, it is produced at the exact moment of demand.  All of the factors of supply and demand will therefore have an immediate impact on the price of electricity on the spot market. In addition to production costs, electricity prices are set by supply and demand.[119] However, some fundamental drivers are the most likely to be considered.

text: Short-term prices are impacted the most by weather.  Demand due to heating in the winter and cooling in the summer are the main drivers for seasonal price spikes.[120]  In 2017, the United States is scheduled to add 13 GW of natural-gas fired generation to its capacity.  Additional natural-gas fired capacity is driving down the price of electricity, and increasing demand.

text: A country’s natural resource endowment, as well as their regulations in place greatly influence tariffs from the supply side.  The supply side of the electricity supply is most influenced by fuel prices, and CO2 allowance prices.  The EU carbon prices have doubled since 2017, making it a significant driving factor of price.[121]

text: Weather[edit]

text: Studies show that generally demand for electricity is driven largely by temperature. Heating demand in the winter and cooling demand (air conditioners) in the summer are what primarily drive the seasonal peaks in most regions. Heating degree days and cooling degree days help measure energy consumption by referencing the outdoor temperature above and below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, a commonly accepted baseline.[122]

text: In terms of renewable sources like solar and wind, weather impacts supply.  California’s duck curve[cite] shows the difference between electricity demand and the amount of solar energy available throughout the day.  On a sunny day, solar power floods the electricity generation market and then drops during sunless evening, when electricity demand peaks.[116]

text: Hydropower availability[edit]

text: Snowpack, streamflows, seasonality, salmon, etc. all affect the amount of water that can flow through a dam at any given time. Forecasting these variables predicts the available potential energy for a dam for a given period.[123] Some regions such as the Egypt, China and the Pacific Northwest get significant generation from hydroelectric dams. In 2015, SAIDI and SAIFI more than doubled from the previous year in Zambia due to low water reserves in their hydroelectric dams caused by insufficient rainfall.[124]

text: Power plant and transmission outages[edit]

text: Whether planned or unplanned, outages affect the total amount of power that is available to the grid.  Outages undermine electricity supply, which in turn effects price.[124]

text: Economic health[edit]

text: During times of economic hardship, many factories cut back production due to a reduction of consumer demand and therefore reduce production-related electrical demand.[125]

text: Global Markets

text: The UK has been a net importer of energy for over a decade, and as their generation capacity and reserves decrease the level of importing is reaching an all-time high.[126]  Their fuel price's dependence on international markets has a huge effect on the cost of electricity, especially if the exchange rate falls. Being energy dependent makes their electricity prices vulnerable to world events, as well.

text: Government Regulation

text: Governments may choose to make electricity tariffs affordable for their population through subsidies to producers and consumers.  Most countries characterized as having low energy access have electric power utilities that do not recover any of their capital and operating costs, due to high subsidy levels.[127]

text: In the United States, federal interventions and subsidies for energy can be classified as tax expenditure, direct expenditures, research and development (R&D), and DOE loan guaruntees.  Most federal subsidies in 2016 were to support developing renewable energy supplies, and energy efficiency measures.[128]

text: Power quality[edit]

text: Excessive Total Harmonic Distortions (THD) and not unity Power Factor (PF) is costly at every level of the electricity market. Cost of PF and THD impact is difficult to estimate, but both can potentially cause heat, vibrations, malfunctioning and even meltdowns. Power factor is the ratio of real to apparent power in a power system. Drawing more current results in a lower power factor. Larger currents require costlier infrastructure to minimize power loss, so consumers with low power factors get charged a higher electricity rate by their utility.[129] True power factor is made of displacement power factor and THD. Power quality is typically monitored at the transmission level. A spectrum of compensation devices[130] mitigate bad outcomes, but improvements can be achieved only with real-time correction devices (old style switching type,[131] modern low-speed DSP driven[132] and near real-time[133]). Most modern devices reduce problems, while maintaining return on investment and significant reduction of ground currents. Power quality problems can cause erroneous responses from many kinds of analog and digital equipment, where the response could be unpredictable.

text: Phase balancing[edit]

text: Most common distribution network and generation is done with 3 phase structures, with special attention paid to the phase balancing and resulting reduction of ground current. It is true for industrial or commercial networks where most power is used in 3 phase machines, but light commercial and residential users do not have real-time phase balancing capabilities. Often this issue leads to unexpected equipment behavior or malfunctions and in extreme cases fires. For example, sensitive professional analogue or digital recording equipment must be connected to well-balanced and grounded power networks. To determine and mitigate the cost of the unbalanced electricity network, electric companies in most cases charge by demand or as a separate category for heavy unbalanced loads. A few simple techniques are available for balancing that require fast computing and real-time modeling.[134]


document_title: List of oldest banks in continuous operation

question_text: what is the oldest bank in the uk

question_tokens: what is the oldest bank in the uk

text: Banks established before 1600[edit]

text:
Year

Company

Country (historic)

Country (modern)

Notes

1472
1624

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena

 Siena
 Tuscany

 Italy

Tracing its history to a mount of piety founded in 1472, but founded in its present form in 1624

1590

Berenberg Bank

 Hamburg

 Germany

The oldest bank operating continuously with the same legal identity; the oldest merchant bank

text: Banks established in the 17th century[edit]

text:
Year

Company

Country (historic)

Country (modern)

Notes

1668

Sveriges Riksbank

 Sweden

 Sweden

The world's oldest central bank

1672

C. Hoare & Co

 England

 United Kingdom

The oldest British bank

1674

Metzler Bank

 Frankfurt

 Germany

1690

Barclays

 England

 United Kingdom

1692

Coutts

 England

 United Kingdom

1694

Bank of England

 England

 United Kingdom

1695

Bank of Scotland

 Scotland

 United Kingdom

text: Banks established in the 18th century[edit]

text:
Year

Company

Country (historic)

Country (modern)

Notes

1702

Caja Madrid

 Castile

 Spain

1717

Drummonds Bank

 Great Britain

 United Kingdom

1727

Royal Bank of Scotland

 Great Britain

 United Kingdom

1737

Van Lanschot

 Dutch Republic

 Netherlands

1747

Banque Nagelmackers

 Liège

 Belgium

1760

Banque Courtois

 France

 France

1765

Lloyds Bank

 Great Britain

 United Kingdom

1774

Fürstlich Castell'sche Bank

 Würzburg

 Germany

1780

Landolt & Cie

 Neuchâtel

  Switzerland

1782

Bank of Spain

 Spain

 Spain

1783

Bank of Ireland

 Ireland

 Ireland

1784

The Bank of New York

 United States

 United States

Oldest US bank tracing to its original incorporation, without resorting to an acquired predeecessor

1785

Trinkaus & Burkhardt

 Palatinate

 Germany

1786

Hottinger & Cie

 France

  Switzerland

1787

La Roche & Co.

 Basel

  Switzerland

1787

Raphaels Bank

 Great Britain

 United Kingdom

1789

Sal. Oppenheim

 Cologne

 Germany

Acquired by Deutsche Bank, which began shutting it down as a separate entity in 2017

1792

State Street Corporation

 United States

 United States

Age dated to predecessor Union Bank

1796

Hauck & Aufhäuser

 Frankfurt

 Germany

1796

Lombard Odier & Cie

 Geneva

  Switzerland

1798

Donner & Reuschel

 Hamburg

 Germany

1798

M. M. Warburg & Co.

 Hamburg

 Germany

1799

The Manhattan Company

 United States

 United States

Reverse merged with Chase National, retaining the Manhattan charter, but later acquired by Chemical Bank. While Chemical renamed itself Chase Manhattan, the direct corporate lineage was Chemical's

text: Banks established in the 19th century[edit]

text:
Year

Company

Country (historic)

Country (modern)

Notes

1800

Banque de France

 France

 France

1804

Schroders

 United Kingdom

 United Kingdom

1805

Pictet & Cie

 Geneva

  Switzerland

1806

State Bank of India

 Calcutta

 India

1808

Banco do Brasil

 Brazil

 Brazil

1810

Brown, Shipley & Co.

 United Kingdom

 United Kingdom

1811

N M Rothschild & Sons

 United Kingdom

 United Kingdom

1811

Bank of Finland

 Finland

 Finland

1812

Citibank

 United States

 United States

Originally City Bank of New York and then National City Bank of New York.

1812

Sparkasse Schwyz

 Schwyz

  Switzerland

1814

De Nederlandsche Bank

 Netherlands

 Netherlands

1815

Banque Bonhôte

 Neuchâtel

  Switzerland

1817

SNS Bank

 Netherlands

 Netherlands

1817

Bank of Montreal

 Lower Canada

 Canada

1817

Bank of New South Wales

 New South Wales

 Australia

1818

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

 United States

 United States

1818

Groupe Caisse d'Épargne

 France

 France

1818

Berliner Sparkasse

 Prussia

 Germany

1818

Danmarks Nationalbank

 Denmark

 Denmark

1819

Mirabaud & Cie

 Geneva

  Switzerland

1819

Erste Bank

 Austria

 Austria

1820

Nordea

 Sweden

 Sweden

1820

Swedbank

 Sweden

 Sweden

1820

Institution for Savings

 United States

 United States

1822

Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires

 Argentina

 Argentina

1822

DNB

 Norway

 Norway

as Christiania Sparebank

1824

Stadtsparkasse München

 Bavaria

 Germany

1825

Česká spořitelna

 Bohemia

 Czech Republic

1826

AEK Bank 1826

 Bern

  Switzerland

1827

Hamburger Sparkasse

 Hamburg

 Germany

1828

Bankhaus Spängler

 Austria

 Austria

1828

De Curaçaosche Bank

 Curaçao

 Curaçao

1828

Citizens Financial Group

 United States

 United States

1828

Centreville Bank

 United States

 United States

1828

Javasche Bank

 Dutch East Indies

 Indonesia

1829

Clientis Caisse d’Epargne CEC

 Bern

  Switzerland

1831

Dedham Institution for Savings

 United States

 United States

1831

National Grand Bank

 United States

 United States

1832

Wilmington Savings Fund Society

 United States

 United States

1832

Scotiabank

 Lower Canada

 Canada

1833

Chemung Canal Trust Company

 United States

 United States

1834

Bank BSU

 Zürich

  Switzerland

1834

Old National Bank

 United States

 United States

1835

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group

 British Empire

 Australia

1836

The Honesdale National Bank

 United States

 United States

1838

Ballston Spa National Bank

 United States

 United States

1838

Clydesdale Bank

 United Kingdom

 United Kingdom

1838

First National Bank

 Cape Colony

 South Africa

1838

Mauritius Commercial Bank

 British Empire

 Mauritius

1839

Provident Bank of New Jersey

 United States

 United States

1840

Montepio

 Portugal

 Portugal

1841

National Bank of Greece

 Greece

 Greece

1841

Sberbank

 Russia

 Russia

1844

Bordier & Cie

 Geneva

  Switzerland

1844

CaixaBank

 Spain

 Spain

as Caixa de Barcelona

1847

Auckland Savings Bank

 New Zealand

 New Zealand

1846

Banco de Portugal

 Portugal

 Portugal

1848

Lazard

 United States

 United States

1849

Oddo et Cie

 France

 France

1849

Hoerner Bank

 Baden

 Germany

1849

Australian Mutual Provident Society

 New South Wales

 Australia

1850

Spar- und Leihkasse Bucheggberg

  Switzerland

  Switzerland

1850

Bank Sparhafen Zürich

  Switzerland

  Switzerland

1850

Volksbank

 Austria

 Austria

1851

Essex Savings Bank

 United States

 United States

1852

PNC Bank

 United States

 United States

1851

Bank of the Philippine Islands

 Philippines

 Philippines

1852

Crédit Foncier de France

 France

 France

1852

Wells Fargo

 United States

 United States

1853

Beneficial Bank

 United States

 United States

1854

Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank

 United States

 United States

1854

UBS

  Switzerland

  Switzerland

1855

Salem Five Cents Bank

 United States

 United States

1856

Credit Suisse

  Switzerland

  Switzerland

1856

Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État

 Luxembourg

 Luxembourg

1856

Ottoman Bank

 Ottoman Empire

 Turkey

1856

M&T Bank

 United States

 United States

1856
1869

Regions Bank

 United States

 United States

as 1st National Bank of Huntsville
as Union Planters

1857

Santander

 Spain

 Spain

1857

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

 Spain

 Spain

1858

Fifth Third Bank

 United States

 United States

1858

Bendigo Bank

 Victoria

 Australia

1858

Standard Chartered

 British Raj

 India

1859

National Bank of Canada

 Canada

 Canada

1860

State Bank of the Russian Empire

 Russia

 Russia

1861

Caixa Econômica Federal

 Brazil

 Brazil

1861

Bank of New Zealand

 New Zealand

 New Zealand

1861

Associated Bank

 United States

 United States

1862

Bank Spółdzielczy w Brodnicy

 Prussia

 Poland

1862

Standard Bank

 Cape Colony

 South Africa

1863

Crédit Lyonnais

 France

 France

1863

Ziraat Bankası

 Ottoman Empire

 Turkey

1864

First Horizon National Corporation

 United States

 United States

as First National Bank

1864

Royal Bank of Canada

 Canada

 Canada

1864

Société Générale

 France

 France

1864

CEC Bank

 Wallachia

 Romania

1864

Banco de Londres y México

 Mexico

 Mexico

1865

HSBC

 Hong Kong

 Hong Kong

1865

Allahabad Bank

 British Raj

 India

1867

Bank of Stockton

 United States

 United States

1867

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

 Canada

 Canada

1868

Busey Bank

 United States

 United States

1868

Vojvođanska banka

 Hungary

 Serbia

1868

Sandy Spring Bank

 United States

 United States

1868

Oldenburgische Landesbank

 Oldenburg

 Germany

1868

The Bank of Edwardsville

 United States

 United States

1868

Živnostenská banka

 Bohemia

 Czech Republic

1869

Goldman Sachs

 United States

 United States

1869

Mellon Bank

 United States

 United States

as T. Mellon & Sons' Bank

1870

Banco de Bogotá

 Colombia

 Colombia

1870

Bank Handlowy

 Poland

 Poland

1870

Commerzbank

 Prussia

 Germany

1870

Deutsche Bank

 Prussia

 Germany

1870

Dominick & Dominick

 United States

 United States

1871

Banco Nacional de Bolivia

 Bolivia

 Bolivia

1871

Danske Bank

 Denmark

 Denmark

1871

Handelsbanken

 Sweden

 Sweden

1871

Wayne Bank

 United States

 United States

1872

BB&T

 United States

 United States

1873

The Daishi Bank (ja)

 Japan

 Japan

1873

Zions Bank

 United States

 United States

1874

Bank of Queensland

 Queensland

 Australia

1875

Toowoomba Permanent Building Society

 Queensland

 Australia

1875

Standard Chartered Bank

 Straits Settlements

 Malaysia

1876

Pharaon & Chiha Bank

 Ottoman Empire

 Lebanon

1876

Caixa Geral de Depósitos

 Portugal

 Portugal

1877

POSB Bank

 Straits Settlements

 Singapore

1877

Banco de Costa Rica

 Costa Rica

 Costa Rica

1877

QNB Bank

 United States

 United States

1877

The Juroku Bank (ja)

 Japan

 Japan

1877

The Eighteenth Bank (ja)

 Japan

 Japan

1878

Close Brothers Group

 United Kingdom

 United Kingdom

1878

Bank of the City of Buenos Aires

 Argentina

 Argentina

1878

The Hyakujushi Bank (ja)

 Japan

 Japan

1878

The 77 Bank

 Japan

 Japan

1878

The Hyakugo Bank (ja)

 Japan

 Japan

1879

Bulgarian National Bank

 Bulgaria

 Bulgaria

1879

Kakegawa Shinkin Bank (ja)

 Japan

 Japan

1880

National Bank of Romania

 Romania

 Romania

1881

Oppenheimer

 United States

 United States

1881

Banc Sabadell

 Spain

 Spain

1881

Bank of Clarke County

 United States

 United States

1882

Crédit Mutuel

 France

 France

1882

Bank of Japan

 Japan

 Japan

1883

Bank Mendes Gans

 Netherlands

 Netherlands

1883

Hancock Bank

 United States

 United States

1884

National Bank of Serbia

 Serbia

 Serbia

1884

Banque de Tunisie

 Tunisia

 Tunisia

1884

Banco Nacional de Mexico

 Mexico

 Mexico

1885

HSBC El Salvador

 El Salvador

 El Salvador

1886

Banca Sella Group

 Italy

 Italy

as Gaudenzio Sella & C.

1886

E. Gutzwiller & Cie. Banquiers

  Switzerland

  Switzerland

1886

Banco Francés del Río de la Plata

 Argentina

 Argentina

1888

Powell Valley National Bank

 United States

 United States

1889

Bryn Mawr Trust

 United States

 United States

1889

Northern Trust

 United States

 United States

1889

First National Bank of Berryville

 United States

 United States

1890

Banco de Venezuela

 Venezuela

 Venezuela

1891

Banco de la Nación Argentina

 Argentina

 Argentina

1893

Banca d'Italia

 Italy

 Italy

1893

Banco de Chile

 Chile

 Chile

1893

Blue Ridge Bank

 United States

 United States

1893

National Australia Bank

 Victoria

 Australia

1894

First Bank of Nigeria

 Lagos Colony

 Nigeria

1895

Punjab National Bank

 British Raj

 India

1895

Agricultural Bank of Western Australia

 Western Australia

 Australia

1895

Bank Rakyat Indonesia

 Dutch East Indies

 Indonesia

1896

The Awa Bank (ja)

 Japan

 Japan

1896

Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay

 Uruguay

 Uruguay

1896

Kenya Commercial Bank Group

 British East Africa

 Kenya

1898

National Bank of Egypt

 Egypt

 Egypt

as Ottoman Empire Bank

1899

Bank of Cyprus

 Cyprus

 Cyprus

1899

Fukui Bank (ja)

 Japan

 Japan