ABSTRACT
Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) is an important source of food and nutritional security for millions of people in the developing world, especially in sub Saharan Africa (SSA) and Latin America. The crop provides over 20% of total calories in human diets in 21 countries, and over 30% in 12 countries that are home to a total of more than 310 million people (Shiferaw et al. 2011). For 900 million farmers and consumers in low-and middle-income countries, maize is a preferred crop or food. The importance of improving maize production and productivity in the developing world could be gauged from the fact that one-third of all malnourished children are found in systems where maize is among the top three crops (Hyman et al. 2008).
