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The scientific name for south Africa maize is Zea mays. Maize was originally grown in Mexico. The maize crop thrives in warm summer regions and is commonly grown in Africa, Asia and America. In South Africa, maize grows in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng, North West, Free State and Northern Cape. South Africa grows maize in small and large scale for local consumption and export.

Maize is the most cultivated crop in South Africa. The total maize produced in South Africa in 2019 was 11.6 trillion tonnes.  

Maize grows in a wide range of soils doing best in well-drained fertile soils. For a good yield, the temperature requirements are 19 to 25 degrees Celsius—too low temperatures and frosting damages the crop. The rainfall requirement for the maize growth and yielding is 500 to 750mm. More moderate rainfall leads to low yields.

The maize plant has a fine profusely branched root system. The roots of a mature maize plant go 2m deep and 1.5m laterally. The plant develops 8 to 20 leaves growing directly from the spiral stem. The maize leaves are grass-like, and the internode separated stem grows up to 6M in height. The plant produces edible seeds (cereals). The seeds form in a structure that forms within the maize stem known as maize kernel. 

Maize matures after 100 days from planting time. Harvesting of maize in South Africa takes place in April. In South Africa, the collection of maize is done by the use of machines in large scale farm while small scale farmers harvest by hand.

The hand-harvesting process involves the cutting down of the maize ears or the whole plant. The plant and the ears are stacked and left to dry. When dried, the plants are threshed. In other cases, the entire dried plant is used as hay and fed to livestock. In mechanical harvesting setting, the maize remains in the field until it dries to a moisture content of 12.5 to 14%. 

Maize is a staple food in South Africa and other many parts of the world.  It is consumed in grain form, in green mealies and meal. Maize is also used in livestock feed like hay and silage, among others. Industrial processing is also done to maize to produce cooking oil and other packed snacks.

The nutritional contents of maize include vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K1, thiamine (vitamin B1), Niacin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), riboflavin (vitamin B3), folic acid, pyridoxine (vitamin B6), P-coumaryl tryptamine, N-ferrulyl tryptamine and selenium.

Significant importing countries of South Africa maize include Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Namibia, and Lesotho among others.

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