Grains

Maize Name:- Maize Maize is the most important crop in the world after wheat and rice. It has continued to be the leading crop in terms of production and area of land on which it has been produced during the last decade. It is as much a significant crop in the American countries like rice and wheat in Asia. Maize has a wide variety of usage too. It is used as a feed and in the production of alcoholic beverages and of food sweeteners, starch, oil and proteins. Recently, it has been discovered that maize or corn can also be used in the production of fuel. Production Centers: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab, Utter- Pradesh

Millet is a general term of grasses yielding small seeded edible grains, grown prodominantly in the dry areas of the far east, and in africa.they are lower protein but richer in fat than wheat, thus they are comparabale with rich in nutiritional statues.millets may be fermented to make alcoholic beverages. Millets may be boiled and consumed whole. In south eastern europe the grains are ground into meal which is used for making a fat, heavy bread or for porridge. In the west it is used principally as animal feed, in particular for poultry and other birds.

The sorghum grain is an important cereal grain that is said to be the staple food of the poor in many countries. The grain is similar to that of maize but having more fats and proteins. This proves beneficial for the livestock and hence is the reason of the popularity of the crop as a feed.

Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world after wheat, rice, maize and barley. It is found in the arid and semi arid parts of the world, due to its feature of being extremely drought tolerant. The nutritional value of sorghum is same as of that of corn and that is why it is gaining importance as livestock feed. Sorghum is also used for ethanol production, producing grain alcohol, starch production, production of adhesives and paper other than being used as food and feed.

Production Centers: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar-Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab

Popcorn is a variety of corn kernel, which explosively expands and puffs up when heated.

A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the seed's hard, starchy endosperm with 14-15% moisture, the latter of which turns to steam as the kernel is heated. The pressure continues building until it exceeds the hull's ability to contain it. The kernel ruptures and explodes, allowing the contents to expand, cool, and finally set in a popcorn puff 20 to 50 times the size of the original kernel.

Some strains of corn (taxonomized as Zea mays) are cultivated specifically as popping corns. The Zea mays variety everta, a special kind of flint corn, is the most common of these.