Maize, Zea mays L., is one of the major cereal crops and thus plays a very important role in human and animal nutrition around the world. It is produced on about 100 million hectares in the developing world (Pandey, 2000). In Tanzania, over 80% of thepopulation depends on it as food; average consumption is about 113 kg per year and it contributes about 60% of the total calories in the diet of Tanzanians. The crop is grown on an average area of 2.0 million hectares (Mduruma, 2002). The midaltitude zone of Tanzania has the largest area with high potential for maize production. The most important limiting factors to maize production are drought and low soil fertility.
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