This is maize harvesting season in most part of the world that attracts much attention or interest for those who love what comes out of it. Seeing how corn is harvested in large quantity that meet the needs of the populace, I became curious, leading to this write up.
Learn how to do it yourself
The process is quite interesting, by accompanying a farmer who has been in the business of planting and harvesting of maize you can learn a lot. Some highlights of the process is noted here. May be, one day you would be able to do it yourself.
It is my personal opinion that What anyone enjoys should demand a personal interest. Knowing how is sacrosanct. I love roasted corn as well as pop corn! There are many things that come from the harvest of maize, pap is one of the things.
I love harvest of maize because of the various ways it could be changed to form other important food items, such as “tuwo”, “gbegiri”, corn syrup, corn meal etc. Indeed, maize can be developed into various usages that benefit mankind which could be popular or unpopular in a local restaurant.
How does the farmer gets the best out of the process?
H1. A large area of land has to be cleared and the bush burnt, leaving an open field about two acres of land, and since it is a rotational farmland that belongs to a family member I had the privilege of learning more about it. A rotational farmland is based on “shift”, that is, after completing a year harvest, you shift base or plant other crops alternatively.
H2. He tilled the soil with a traditional hoe, manual tillage is a good way to make sure that the hard ground is soften, this he did, using parallel ridges that span the length and breath of the land. In order to get the best of harvest, he had kept the best of the corn of the previous harvest. Such corn must prove to be a healthy corn with no visible signs of defects. Any one that is “gap toothed” is not part of the family for the planting season.
H3. It must thoroughly exhibit the characteristics of a healthy seed before it passes for planting. So, scrutinization is a critical part of the process of planning if you must have a wonderful harvest. The common mantra, “good thinking good product” applies to farmers too. It is important for all successful farmers to think of the best way and ahead of the harvest. Farmers who don’t think of the best way to go about their business won’t maximize productivity, for what you sow tantamount to what is expected at harvest!
H4.The seeds are carefully removed from the cob holding the seeds. The cob is the
axis on which the kernels of maize is attached to. This should be a dry corn seed that can withstand the strength of the soil for three days or thereabouts before germination takes place. You don’t plant fresh corn. It will not be able to resist decay or infestation of the seed in due course.
H5. Planting is done in a row and in straight line with some space in between to avoid unnecessary clustering that would make harvest difficult, apart from that, healthy harvest won’t be possible if the seeds in a row are too close to each other. So there must be gaps in between.
H6. Three seeds or four are thrown into an apparent shallow holes made possible by a sharp javelin. The hole mustn’t be more than half a ruler to be precise. It must not be too deep and it must not be too shallow, otherwise rodents will dig through easily and eat them up thereby reducing the strength of the harvest.
H6. Having done with planting, we wait patiently for the rain to wet the fertilized soil. Local farmers hardly apply artificial fertilizer, they depend on what nature provides as a natural manure for cultivation.
H7. Many think that soil with artificial fertilizer will produce harvest of less quality where quantity is guaranteed, however quality and quantity are imperative factors for agricultural produce . Subsistent farmers don’t even have the money to buy fertilizer in most local farms, that is the reason Africa has the lowest harvest in terms of cashing out from their manual investment.
Again, they don’t have the means to do a mechanized farming capable of increasing their productivity. This is the main reason why they are poor farmers with poor harvest and with poor bank account.
Except they are helped, most of them do not know how to access a loan from the bank. In fact, most of them are not attracted to loan because of fear of not meeting up with repayment. They believe that the devil they know is better than the one they don’t understand! Thus, they are OK with Subsistent farming that cost them little or nothing but with little harvest!
Fresh Corn are usually harvested in two or three months after planting, the freshness gives a sumptuous taste when roasted or cooked. This is the season for maize harvest in most places in Africa. You can not miss the aroma of a roasted corn everywhere with its attractive fragrance. The sweetness is a deal when eaten fresh and hot with coconut or pear fruit.
To get dry corn, they are allowed to properly dry for weeks or months and harvested into the store house for sale or for personal purpose. The buyers use this for various types of finished products as mentioned earlier. And the seller makes a lot of money from the sales, for most farmers, maize is their major source of income.
Contending forces
Every maize farmer contends with rodents, birds and grass cutters that cut the stems for their meal. They get a lot of water from the stem itself, so it doesn’t only serve as food for the rodents, it is a great source of water too!
How to deal with these forces
An experienced farmer placed some standing dummies all around the farm, and he position them in strategic places within the farmland to serve as a scarecrow, something that looks like a human being when the farmer is out of reach. This helps to keep rodents away as well as scare the birds until the end of the harvest.
The difference between”pop” and “roasted” corn
h1. Pop corn is derived from a variety of dried corn placed in a heated pot and allow to continue to heat up until the corn can no longer resist the heat. The corn under the high temperature begins to pop up or blow to form what is called “pop corn”.
Pop corn is prepared in different ways, some chose to add sugar to it or salt, or salt and sugar mixed together. Many make it more attractive by adding fascinating colorant. Special oil added to it could give one a special treat while you delight yourself in sumptuous taste.
Pop corn is not seasonal as roasted corn because you can always find the raw materials for the production in season and out of season. You can run a good paying business selling pop corn in a small space or maybe, have a factory that supply big shops or any other outlet.
h2. On the other hand, roasted corn is made possible from fresh corn, whose outer layer or cover is still green, newly cut from the farm. When fresh corn is placed near the heat while it is still on the cob and it begins to change color from milk like appearance, to a dark brown or blackish appearance, what you have is a roasted corn. It is a good source of energy containing a lot of starch.
You can have it anywhere now from the streets, for this is the season of maize that usually span from April to September, depending on how the rain water the soil where irrigation is not in use. A season of maize is a great season of joy for many people who wait patiently to see it come to pass. I love roasted corn and I know you love it too.
