There’s a lot of talk in the upper midwest about the overuse of nitrogen fertilizers to bolster dented corn yields. My neighbors in Iowa, where they produce the most, is said to be responsible for the majority nitrogen going down the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. MN, WI, IL, MO…we all have a part in nitrogen runoff.
So, the folks down in southern Mexico have been growing corn (corn is their staple, the faith of most Mayan civs believe humans were born of corn) for millennia. No nitrogen. If you look at the funny photo in the link, you’ll see the key. That snot running down the plant is their source of nitrogen. That slime attracts bacteria that turns into nitrogen for the plant.
I’m proud of my state, and glad to see our flagship school, UW- Madison (where my son is in his senior year) has begun to grow the snotnitrocorn, and hopefully not develop it too much. I just worry about the growing season of the corn compared to WI climate. We’ll see. Much higher protein dented corn than the yellow field varieties we use today, many of them of questionable sourcing.
This stuff tastes like hominy. It’s starchy/waxy, but the first tortillas, masa we’re made of something like the corn in Oaxaca. It is the corn that birthed America; before there was a land called America.
So, has anyone else tried this corn? Anybody look into this? Could make a huge difference in agriculture.
The problem is, once Monsanto, or ADM gets their grubby mitts on it, the people who have grown it for thousands of years, won’t be able to grow it anymore. Patent/copyright. So, the folks in Oaxaca stay tight lipped about it. Not paranoia if there’s good reason.
Thoughts, experiences, opinions?
