This Mexican town produces the largest corn in the world

A small Mexican town is home to the largest corn in the world, sometimes up to 40cm long.

Jala , a small town in the state of Nayarit, Mexico, is famous for being home to the largest corn in the world . The name Jala, derived from Nahuatl, means sand and it is true that the area has a lot of sand.

Giant maize variety Jala landrace

When people brought similar varieties planted in many other parts of the country, but nowhere produced a product of such large size.

Local people used to "export" the giant corn variety Jala landrace to other states or even other areas of Nayarit but did not get such large corn.

The species has been cultivated in the neighboring states of Sinaloa and Jalisco, as well as in some other parts of Nayarit, but has not grown as large as in Jala, at the foot of the Ceboruco volcano. This is also a place that attracts tourists from many parts of the world.

The corn has a large size, the record is up to 60cm

Tall corn plants make locals ride horses to harvest

In 2019, the world's largest corn grower, a farmer named Jesús Nazario Elías Moctezuma, won the annual corn contest in Jala, Nayarit. He planted a cob with a 39.5cm long cob, while the runner-up was only half a centimeter behind and most of the other participants weren't far behind.

However, over time, the quality of corn in Jala Landrace has declined much and is in danger of being lost forever. Although people still harvest giant cobs of 40cm long, they are certainly not as long as they used to be.

In 2016, a local farmer won the annual contest for 45cm long corn. Meanwhile, scientific reports from 1924 have mentioned corn up to 60cm long and plants over 6 meters tall. Now, as the number of farmers growing this type of corn is also decreasing, so is the size of the corn.

Socio-economic researcher Carolina Camacho said: "The Jala corn growing area is not very mechanized. They have to sow by hand, because the plants can grow to several meters or more, so people also have to ride horses. go and harvest by hand".

As more and more farmers switch to other species, the unique genetic pedigree of this legendary species will be diluted.