How to grow maize

Apply lime (if your soil is sour) Recommended

1. Only lime if a soil test — or past crops that stayed yellow and stunted even with fertiliser — says your soil is sour. Your recommendation gives the amount for your field.

2. Spread it evenly over the whole field, like sprinkling flour by hand — patches give you patchy results.

3. Work it into the topsoil with a hoe or plough. Lime only helps the soil it is mixed into; left on top it does almost nothing.

4. Do it 2–3 months before you plant (a good time is right after clearing the last crop) — lime is slow, so late liming won't help this season.

• Do:

  Spread lime and manure a few weeks apart, not the same day — give each time to work in.

• Watch out:

  Wash your hands after handling lime and keep the dust out of your eyes.

Buy your seed and basal fertiliser Critical

1. Buy certified seed from a registered dealer — a sealed bag with a label, the variety name, and this season's packing date.

2. Choose a variety that matches your rains: a short-season variety where rains are short or unreliable, a longer one where they're dependable. Ask the dealer or check your recommendation.

3. Buy enough basal fertiliser (a compound such as Compound D / NPK) for your field — your recommendation gives the amount.

4. Store the seed and fertiliser dry, off the floor, away from food, water and children. Keep the label and receipt in case the seed turns out poor.

• Do:

  Buy seed in a sealed, labelled bag — loose seed scooped from a sack is often old, mixed, or just treated grain.

• Tip:

  Saving grain from last season's hybrid crop for seed — hybrids lose vigour, so the next crop yields far less and grows unevenly.

• Watch out:

  Check the packing date, and keep fertiliser dry — damp fertiliser sets hard like a rock and won't spread.

Test that your seed will actually grow Critical

1. Count out 100 seeds at random from the bag.

2. Lay them on a wet cloth or newspaper, roll it loosely, and keep it warm and damp (not dripping) for about a week — wet it again if it dries.

3. Unroll it and count how many have sprouted a root or shoot.

4. 90 or more out of 100 → good seed, plant it. Fewer than 90 → take it back to the dealer or buy fresh certified seed. Weak seed leaves gaps you can never fix.

• Do:

  Do this test a week before you buy the rest (or plant), so you still have time to swap out bad seed.

Clear and prepare a fine, firm seedbed Recommended

1. Clear weeds and old crop residue off the planting lines (you can leave residue between the rows as mulch).

2. Loosen the soil to about 15–20 cm — a spade's or plough's depth — so roots go down and rain soaks in.

3. Break the clods on top to a fine, crumbly tilth. Small maize seed sown into big clods sits in air pockets and comes up patchy.

4. Level the surface so water doesn't pool. On a slope, work across the slope (not up-and-down), or make basins or tied ridges to catch and hold the rain.

• Do:

  Leave crop residue or mulch between the rows — it holds moisture and slows weeds.

Work in manure or compost Recommended

1. Use only well-rotted manure or compost — dark, crumbly, no strong smell. Fresh, strawy manure needs more time to rot.

2. Spread it evenly — about a wheelbarrow every few strides gives a good rate.

3. Work it into the topsoil 1–2 weeks before planting so it settles in with the soil.

• Tip:

  Fresh/raw manure at planting — it scorches young roots, robs nitrogen as it rots, and brings weed seeds.

• Watch out:

  Wash your hands after handling manure.

Plant your maize on a good planting rain Critical

1. Wait for a real planting rain — one that wets the soil to a spade's depth. Push your hand in: it should come out muddy, not just damp on top. Don't plant on the first light shower.

2. Open your holes or furrows at the right spacing: about a stride between rows (≈75 cm) and a hand-span between stations (≈25 cm) along the row.

3. Drop one seed per station, about as deep as your first finger-joint (3–5 cm) — a little deeper in dry, sandy soil, shallower in heavy, wet soil. In very dry areas drop two and thin to one later.

4. Place the basal fertiliser — about one bottle-cap per station — a hand's width (≈5 cm) to the SIDE of the seed and a little below it, never touching the seed, or it burns and kills the sprout.

5. Cover and firm the soil over both, so the seed sits snugly in moist earth and comes up strongly.

• Do:

  Plant on a real planting rain that soaks a spade deep — a false start on a light shower leaves seed to rot or bake.

• Tip:

  Planting too late — the crop then flowers into the hot, dry spell and the cobs never fill.

• Watch out:

  Keep fertiliser out of the seed hole and off wet leaves, and wash your hands after handling it.

Scout your young crop (twice a week) Critical

1. Twice a week, walk a large "W" across the field so you cover all four corners and the middle — not just the edge by the path.

2. At about 10 stops, look closely at 10 plants: the growing point (the whorl in the centre) and under the leaves.

3. Fall armyworm: look for small "window" holes in the young leaves and moist, sawdust-like droppings in the whorl. The caterpillar has pale stripes and a pale upside-down "Y" on its dark head.

4. Cutworms: look for young plants cut clean off at ground level (worst in the morning). Scratch the soil nearby to find the fat, grey, curled caterpillar.

5. Count how many plants in 100 show fresh damage. If 2 or more in every 10 (20%) show fresh whorl damage, act now — open the fall armyworm guide.

6. Also count the gaps (stations with no plant), so you know whether to gap-fill.

• Watch out:

  Fresh, moist droppings in the whorl mean the caterpillar is still inside and feeding. Old, dry droppings with no caterpillar are a past attack — don't waste spray on it.

Check how many plants came up Critical

1. About a week after planting, walk the rows and count how many plants came up against the number of stations you sowed.

2. Work out the share that came up (for example, 90 plants from 100 stations = 90%).

3. 90% or more → a good stand, carry on.

4. Below 90% → gap-fill the biggest gaps in the next few days, while there's still time (see the gap-fill task). Gaps caught now can be filled; later they can't.

Fill gaps and thin to one plant per station Critical

1. Where two or more seedlings share a station, snip the weaker ones off at ground level with a knife — don't pull them, or you disturb the roots of the one you keep.

2. In big gaps, either transplant a spare seedling (lift it with a ball of soil, in the cool of evening, and water it in) or drop a fresh seed if the soil is still moist and the crop is only a few days old.

3. Aim for one strong plant at every station, evenly spaced.

First weeding — keep it clean early Critical

1. Weed by about 2–3 weeks after emergence, before the weeds get bigger than the maize.

2. Hoe shallowly between and within the rows — deep hoeing near the plants cuts maize roots.

3. Remove weeds fully (roots and all where you can); chopping only the tops lets many regrow.

4. In dry areas, leave the pulled weeds lying between the rows as a mulch to hold moisture.

• Do:

  Weed while the weeds are still small — a clean field in the first 6 weeks is the cheapest yield you will ever gain.

Irrigate to keep the young crop growing Critical

1. Keep the topsoil moist but not waterlogged — maize hates sitting in water.

2. Water every few days, more often in heat and on sandy soils that dry fast.

3. Check by pushing a finger into the soil: water when the top few centimetres are dry.

• Tip:

  Waterlogging the field — maize roots rot in standing water. Drain low spots.

Scout the growing crop (twice a week) Critical

1. Twice a week, walk the "W" and check about 10 plants at 10 stops.

2. Whorl: keep checking for fall armyworm — window holes and moist droppings deep in the whorl.

3. Leaves: look for neat rows of "shot-holes" across unfolding leaves (stalk borer); small grey/tan rectangular spots or long grey lesions on lower leaves (grey leaf spot / blight); yellow streaks running along the leaf (maize streak virus).

4. Colour: pale, yellowing lower leaves with a yellow "V" running from the tip mean nitrogen hunger — a sign it's time to top-dress.

5. Note what you see and where. If anything is over threshold, act — open the matching pest or disease guide.

Second weeding Critical

1. Weed again before the canopy closes — roughly 4–5 weeks after emergence.

2. Hoe shallowly so you don't damage the now-spreading maize roots.

3. Time it just before you top-dress, so the nitrogen feeds the maize and not the weeds.

First nitrogen top-dressing (knee-high) Recommended

1. Apply when the crop is about knee-high (roughly 4–5 weeks).

2. Band the nitrogen (AN or urea) — about half a bottle-cap per plant — a hand's width (≈10 cm) to the side of the row, not on top of the plants.

3. Do it when the soil is moist (after a weeding or light rain) and cover it or water it in, so it doesn't gas off into the air and go to waste.

4. Keep the fertiliser off wet leaves — the grains stick and scorch them. Wash your hands afterwards.

• Tip:

  Putting all the nitrogen on in one go — a heavy rain washes it straight past the roots. Split it into two feeds.

Third weeding and earthing-up Recommended

1. Remove any remaining weeds while you still can walk the rows.

2. Draw soil up around the base of the stems to cover the surface roots and steady each plant.

3. This also buries any surface top-dressing and closes soil cracks that dry the roots.

Irrigate through vegetative growth Recommended

1. Water every 7–10 days, depending on heat and soil type.

2. Don't let the crop wilt during this fast-growth stage — it sets the size of the plant.

Second nitrogen top-dressing (before tasseling) Recommended

1. Apply just before the tassels emerge (around 7–8 weeks) — when the plant is about to flower.

2. Band it — about half a bottle-cap per plant — a hand's width (≈10 cm) to the side of the row, on moist soil, and cover or water it in.

3. This is the last nitrogen of the season — don't apply any after silking; it won't reach the grain. Wash your hands afterwards.

Scout the ears and silks Critical

1. Twice a week, check the tassels, silks and the tips of the forming cobs on about 10 plants at several stops.

2. Look for caterpillars feeding on the silks or boring into the ear tip — fall armyworm now targets the cob itself. If damage is spreading, open the fall armyworm guide.

3. Gently feel a few ears: a well-pollinated cob feels full to the tip. Note any tip damage or the start of rot.

4. After storms, look for lodged (fallen or leaning) plants.

• Watch out:

  Heat or dry soil during silking is the single biggest yield-killer of the whole season — if you can water at only one stage, water now.

Water through silking — never let it stress Critical

1. Keep the soil moist right through tasseling and silking — this beats every other watering.

2. Water every 5–7 days, more often in heat.

3. Never let the crop wilt at this stage, even for a day.

Water through early grain fill, then ease off Recommended

1. Keep watering through the milk and dough stages while the leaves are still green.

2. As the lower leaves and the husks start to dry, reduce watering.

3. Stop once the crop reaches the dent / black-layer stage, so it can dry down in the field.

Scout during grain fill Recommended

1. Once a week, check a sample of cobs and look over the standing crop.

2. Peel back a few husks and look for mouldy, discoloured or rotting kernels (ear rot). Cobs whose husks are tight and point downward shed rain and rot less.

3. Look for lodged (fallen or leaning) plants, especially after wind or storms — they dry unevenly and are hard to harvest.

4. Watch the field edges for bird and rodent damage as the grain hardens.

5. If ear rot or lodging is spreading, harvest the affected part early rather than lose it.

Check for the black layer (the grain is mature) Recommended

1. Pick a few cobs from different plants and pull off some kernels from near the tip and the middle.

2. Look at the point where the kernel joined the cob — a small black or brown layer there means that kernel is mature.

3. When most kernels show the black layer, the crop has reached full maturity.

4. It no longer needs water — let it dry down in the field. If storms or birds threaten, harvest now rather than wait for a perfect dry-down.

Harvest your maize Critical

1. For green mealies (roasting or boiling): pick when the kernels are full and milky — press one with a thumbnail and a milky liquid squirts out (about 65–85 days). Sell or eat within a day or two; they don't keep.

2. For dry grain: wait until the kernels are hard and dented, the husks are dry and brown, and the black layer has formed (about 20–25% moisture).

3. Snap the cobs off. In dry weather you can leave them a little longer on the plant, but bring them in before rain or before bird and rodent losses climb.

4. Keep the husks on if you'll dry on cribs; strip them if you'll dry on racks or tarpaulins.

Dry your grain hard before storing Critical

1. Dry the cobs or shelled grain on a crib, rack, mat or tarpaulin — never on bare ground, which pushes damp back in and adds mould, stones and animal dirt.

2. Turn it regularly so it dries evenly, and cover it if rain threatens.

3. Fingernail test: the grain is dry enough when a kernel is too hard to dent with your fingernail and shatters (not squashes) when you bite it.

4. Salt-bottle test: seal a handful of grain with a spoon of dry salt in a clean, dry bottle for 15 minutes. If the salt sticks to the glass, the grain is still too wet → dry it more before storing.

• Tip:

  Drying on bare ground — the grain picks up damp, mould, stones and aflatoxin. Always use a raised crib, rack, mat or tarpaulin.

Shell clean and store sealed Critical

1. Shell the dry grain and winnow out the chaff, broken grain and dust — pests breed fastest in the trash.

2. Store in hermetic (airtight) bags or a clean, sealed metal silo. Airtight storage suffocates weevils and grain borer with no chemicals needed.

3. If you use ordinary bags, mix in a recommended grain protectant, and keep the bags off the floor and away from the wall, in a cool, dry place.

4. Check the store once a month for heating, moths, or grain with small round holes (borer) — act early if you see them.

• Tip:

  Storing damp grain in open bags — weevils and grain borer move in fast. Dry to 13% or less and seal it.

• Watch out:

  If you use a storage dust/protectant, follow the label, keep it off grain you'll eat within weeks, and wash your hands.