Objectives. This guide is intended to enable you to:

• describe the maize plant and its importance
• define the growth stages of maize
• describe morphological features and functions of a maize plant through the stages of seedling growth, vegetative growth, flowering, fertilization and grain filling
   
  

Study materials

• Maize seeds
• Plants at different growth stages
• Ear shoots at various stages of development
• Plant and ear samples of different maize varieties
• Slides identifying different plant parts
• Slides of various stages in the maize life cycle
   
  

Practicals

• Identify growth stages
• Dissect seeds, seedlings and plants, and identify morphological features
• Identify various stages of maize ear development
• Compare varieties and describe distinguishing characteristics