CHAPTER ONE                                                                                        1

1.1      Introduction                                                                                     1

CHAPTER TWO                                                                                       5

2.1      Popping Ability of New Tropical Popcorn Hybrids                            5

2.2      Production of Popcorn                                                                     7

2.2.1   Farm Production                                                                              7

2.2.2   Climate and Soil Requirement for Production                                    8

2.2.3   Temperature Requirement                                                                8

2.2.4   Rainfall                                                                                           8

2.3      Soil Preparation                                                                               8

CHAPTER THREE                                                                                    15

3.1      Review on Cultivation of Popcorn                                                    15

3.2      Drying Model of Nigerian Popcorn                                                   17

CHAPTER FOUR                                                                                      20

4.1      Pest and Diseases of Popcorn                                                           20

4.2      Conclusion                                                                                      25

4.3      Recommendations                                                                            25

References                                                                                                 26

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure                     Title                                                                            Pages

2.1:     Land preparation for maize                                                              11

 2.2:    Animal Traction                                                                              12

2.3:     Planting maize seeds                                                                        13

4:       Well prepared and planted land                                                         14 

          Work that have been done on maize before 1950 can be described as agronomic. The method of research for cultivating maize was to a large extent secondary since the designing of efficient farming system was given priority. Maize was used merely as a test crop for soil fertility to determine the influence of green manners and various sequences of crops in the rotation. Most of this work was done at Moor Plantation in Ibadan, Ogba near Benin City and Umudike near Umuahia.

          Maize has been in the diet of Nigerian’s for centuries. It started as a subsistence crop and has gradually become more important crop. Maize has now risen to a commercial crop on which many agro-based industries depend on as raw materials. The first attempt at Agricultural research in Nigeria was made in 1899. Initial Agricultural research work in Nigeria was directed at promoting the development of various cash crops including cocoa, oil palm, cotton, groundnut for export purposes. The advent of a very destructive rust disease known as the American rust, incited by Puccinia polestar, which entered West Africa in 1950, called attention to the importance of maize as food crop.

         Maize is the most important cereal in the world after wheat and rice with regard to cultivation areas and total production. Maize can be classified according to the structure of the grain. The various classes of maize are sweet corn, flint corn, popcorn, dent corn, soft or flour corn and pod corn. Also there are different varieties like Western Yellow 1096BP6 (Yellow), NS – 1 (yellow), Tsolo (Yellow), N.S.5 (white), TZPB (White), TZB (white) e.t.c. According to IITA (2001) report, maize contains 80percent carbohydrate, 10percent protein, 3.5percent fiber and 2percent mineral. Iron and Vitamin B are also present in maize. Africans consume maize as a starchy base in a wide variety of porridges, pastes, grits and beer. Green maize (fresh on the cob) is eaten parched, baked, roasted or boiled and plays an important role in filling the hunger gap after the dry season. More explanation will be on popcorn (Zea mays Everta).

          Popcorn (Zea mays Everta) is a popular snack consumed all over the world. It is a special type of flint maize which explodes when exposed to heat treatment and produce flakes. Despite increasing consumption of popcorn worldwide, adequate production in Sub-Saharan Africa is hampered by lack of varieties which are adapted to stress-prone environments which are prevalent in Africa. This, therefore, calls for breeding investigations to develop new adapted hybrids. There are not many programmes which emphasise popping ability in maize in Africa and many other developing countries. The breeding of popcorn is not given as much attention as dent maize