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48 RACES OF MAIZE TABLE 2 COMPARISON OF ZAPALOTE CHICO WITH THE WHITE DENT CORN FOUND IN CAUJERI, ORIENTE Plant Characters Height (m.) Number of leaves Width of leaves (em. ) Length of leaves (em. ) Venation index Tassel Characters Length Branching space Per cent branching spa~ Number of branches Per cent of secondary branches Condensation index External Characters of Ear Length (em.) Diameter (em.) Row number Shank diameter ( mm.) Width of kernel ( mm. ) Thickness of kernel ( mm. ) Length of kernel ( mm.) Internal Characters of Ear Diameter of cob ( mm. ) Diameter of rachis ( mm. ) Length of rachilla ( mm.) Cob/rachis index Glume/kernel index Pedicel hairs Rachis flap Chromosome Knobs, range 0 1.17 m. at Soledad, summer, 1953 Zapalote Chico ( Data from Races of Maize in Mexico) 1.20 10.00 7.90 64.20 3.30 34.00 10.70 34.00 18.90 16.00 1.72 9.90 4.20 10.70 13.70 9.80 3.60 10.10 23.30 14.00 3.70 1.66 0.46 0-1 1 10-14 Cau;e1i Dent (Grown at Soledad, summer, 1954) 1.97° 12.70 7.88 83.30 3.27 33.40 11.30 35.80 20.10 15.40 1.06 11.00 3.68 10.30 11.60 9.30 4.40 9.70 22.40 12.70 2.38 1.78 0.50 0 2 6--8
HOW CORN IS GROWN IN CUBA HOW CORN IS GROWN IN CUBA METHOD OF INTERVIEWING: 1954-55 49 Field studies in 1953 suggested that much Cuban corn was undergoing a process of "mongrelization." The construction of a modem highway system had tended to destroy regional isola- tion, and introduction of foreign varieties for which grain dealers in cities paid high prices had induced many farmers to abandon lines inherited from parents. In order to estimate the importance of these disturbing factors, seventy-one farmers were interviewed by questionnaire in 1954 and 1955. Emphasis was placed on varietal names, source of seed, and characteristics considered desirable in selection of ears for sowing, but also included were economic and social factors which might affect indirectly the genetic composition of cornfields. The Cuban farmers, whose courtesy, hospitality, and generosity are well known to all who have lived among them, offered com- plete cooperation in almost every case. Many expressed a lively interest in agricultural practices in the United States. Most growers seemed to have little difficulty in understanding the questions put to them. Only four interviews were later rejected because of the informants' doubtful reliability- one of the four, for example, was apparently demented. As a check on the data obtained by personal interviews, certain statistics published by the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture in the 1946 Agricultural Census ( 11) are included below. In general, the farms visited by the author appear to approach the national average fairly closely in size of farm and type of tenancy. For a geographical study of the factors affecting the production of com and hence the evolutionary changes which maize may be undergoing, it is convenient to divide Cuba into two sections. The eastern division, consisting of the provinces of Oriente and Camagi.iey, produces nearly all the maize sold in the national markets as grain. It contains about 55 per cent of the land area of Cuba and produced about 58.5 per cent of the country's corn in 1946. Dent com is common only in Oriente and Camagi.iey. Both provinces are noted for very large estates on which sugar cane, rice, and cattle are produced.
50 RACES OF MAIZE The western division, containing the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Habana, Matanzas, and Las Villas, sells very little corn in the national markets as grain. The chief cash crops are sugar cane and tobacco, although cattle and coffee are important in Las Villas and rice increasingly so in Pinar del Rio. In all, the sale of fresh vegetables, including green corn, in the city markets is an important source of income for the small farmer. The distribution of farms at which interviews were obtained was as follows: Eastern Division Oriente Camagiiey Western Didsion 33 3 Las Villas . 14 Matanzas . 1 Habana . . 5 Pinar del Rio . 11 Total 36 31 67 SIZE AND VALUE OF PHOI>UCTION OF FARMS (Source: 1946 Agricultural Census) Although the average farm size in Cuba was 56.7 hectares in 1945, the median area was between 10 and 25 hectares. About 20 per cent of all farms covered less than 5 hectares. The national median value of farm products in 1945 was between $500 and $1,000 per farm; 54.6 per cent of Oriente farms, however, pro- duced less than $500. Cane and corn offer interesting economic contrasts, as shown in Table 3. Crop value ( $1,000) Percentage of farms Crop value per farm ( $) TABLE 3 VALUE OF SUGAR CANE AND CORN PRODUCED IN CUBA IN 1945 Eastern Cuba Cane Corn 71,670 12.9 8,670 7,068 57.1 191 Western Cuba Cane Corn 64,294 36.9 2,030 8,206 58.5 163
HOW CORN IS GROWN IN CUBA 51 These data illustrate the great importance of latifundios in eastern Cuba, where in 1945 more than 49 per cent of the total value of agricultural production was produced on only 12.9 per cent of the farms. In general, in those provinces cane is a rich man's crop. Corn is grown by almost all poor farmers and by a few larger landholders who have felt diversification desirable. For the poor farmer, corn is relatively more important in eastern Cuba than in the western provinces, where cane, sold to sugar mills, and tobacco are important sources of revenue to many small farmers. For example, 71.7 per cent of all farms in Matanzas province produced some sugar cane in 1945. Tobacco is very important in Pinar del Rio and Las Villas. It accounted for 39.1 per cent of the total value of agricultural production in those two provinces in 1945 and was grown on 48.1 per cent of all farms. TYPE OF TENANCY Cuban farmers interviewed did not hesitate to state whether they owned, rented, or simply occupied the farms they worked. Similar data obtained in the 1946 Agricultural Census provided a convenient check on the accuracy of the author's sample. Sub- renters have been included under the heading "renter." Type of Tenancy Proprietor Administrator Renter Sharecropper Squatter TABLE 4 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF TYPES OF TENANCY 1946 Census o/o 31 6 33 21 9 - 1954-55 Sample o/o 43.5 3.0 28.5 18.0 7.5 Although proprietor-class tenancy is somewhat overrepresented, the sample appears to be a fair one. In the western provinces, 69.3 per cent of all farms were rented or sharecropped in 1945. The corresponding percentage in the eastern provinces was only 33.2. Squatters, on the other hand, occupied less than 2 per cent of the farms in western Cuba but 17.7 per cent of those in Oriente and Camagiiey.
52 RACES OF MAIZE NUMBER OF YEARS ON FARM The 1946 Agricultural Census provides data which indicate the tendency toward mobility of persons who operate Cuban farms. The data presented in Table 5 have been calculated from Table 14 of the Census. TABLE 5 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF TENANTS (OWNERS, AIJI\IINISTHATOHS, liENTERS, SHARECROPPEHS, OR SQUATrERS) WHO HAVE OPEHATED FARMS THE INDICATED NUMBER OF YEAHS. rears less than 5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 to 25 over 25 Eastern Cuba Western Cuba '7o % 29.3 19.4 19.4 17.8 14.5 18.2 16.2 16.9 19.1 22.8 - ------------ Obviously, land tenure is somewhat less stable in eastern than in western Cuba. Since farmers who move to new areas sometimes carry seed corn or buy it at stores or markets, tenant mobility is a factor tending to introduce new germplasm and thus to modify existing types of corn. USE OF FERTILIZER, IRRIGATION, AND MACHINERY Only seven farmers interviewed used chemical fertilizer on their corn. Of these, six were tobacco growers and one an Habana dairyman. One other farmer stated that he occasionally burned limestone in a kiln for use on his poor serpentine soils, and another put cane ashes and "mud" ( cachaza) on his cornfields. The data obtained in the present survey are compared with those of the 1946 Agricultural Census in Table 6. Fertilizer Irrigation TABLE 6 PERCENTAGE OF FARMS USING FERTILIZER AND IRRIGATION 1946 Census 12.0 4.0 1954-.55 Sample 10.5 6.0
HOW CORN IS GROWN IN CUBA 53 Ten farmers stated that they used machinery, chiefly tractors, in their work. Still by far the most common method of plowing in Cuba is the use of a team of oxen hitched to a metal-tipped plow. SIZE OF CORNFIELD The sizes of cornfields reported by farmers interviewed varied from 0.25 to 350 hectares; the median size was 2 hectares ( 4.95 acres). The frequency distribution of areas of cornfields is shown in Table 7. The average size of cornfields reported in the 1946 Agricultural Census was 2.9 hectares. TABLE 7 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF CORNFIELDS BY SIZE --=-"=====-=-========~--====== ---=---=== Area of field 0 to 0.9 hectares 1 to 1.9 2 to 2.9 3 to 3.9 4 to 4.9 5 to 10 11 to 100 over 100 YIELDS % 15.0 19.5 16.5 12.0 6.0 13.5 7.5 1.5 Forty-nine farmers reported estimated yields. Average re- ported yield was 27.8 quintales per hectare, the approximate equivalent of 20.5 bushels per acre. Reported yields ranged from 3.3 to 73.5 bushels per acre, but 90 per cent fell between 7.4 and 35.2 bushels per acre. The 73.5 bushel/ acre yield is not im- possible, since the farmer reporting this figure used chemical fertilizers and machinery. According to the Agricultural Census of 1946, the average national per hectare yields were 917 kilograms in the summer and 924 in the winter crop. These are the approximate equiva- lents of 14.9 and 15.0 bushels per acre.
54 RACES OF MAIZE NUMBER OF VARIETIES GROWN BY A SINGLE FARMER Table 8 illustrates the strong tendency for Cuban farmers to grow at least two varieties of corn in regions where more than one race is available. In addition, 54 per cent of all farmers re- ported that they had formerly grown at least one other variety. Twelve of the fifteen farmers who grew more than one variety stated that they sowed all varieties in the same field, usually in separate rows. Only two farmers specified that they kept varieties well separated in order to prevent crossing. Of all farmers, 19.4 per cent reported that nearby neighbors sowed varieties different from their own. Eastern Western TABLE 8 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF CUBAN FARMERS GROWING ONE, TWO, OR THREE RACES OF CORN Number of Varieties Grown 1 2 3 o/o o/o o/c Provinces 66.7 22.2 11.1 Provinces 90.4 6.5 3.2 Total 77.7 14.9 7.5 2ar3 o/o 33.3 9.7 22.4 Only 14.9 per cent of all farmers interviewed understood the sexual function of pollen. Some ideas expressed were surprising; for example, one grower stated that pollen's only role in the life of the maize plant was to kill the weeds and other competing vegetation on which it fell. Others, who recognized that some of their lines had "degenerated," believed the change due to a vague kind of influence which had moved into the plant from the soil. The writer was frequently assured that in order to counteract this supposed process it was necessary to obtain new seed every few years from relatively distant places. SOURCE OF SEED AND NUMBER OF YEARS HELD Tables 9 and 10 suggest that the process of seed changing is a fairly important one in Cuba. Thus 48.4 per cent of all farmers indicated that they had obtained their seed no more than ten years before the time of the interview.
HOW CORN IS GROWN IN CUBA TABLE 9 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF FARMERS REPORTING SEED HELD FOR INDICATED NUMBER OF YEARS Years Held 1 2 3 4 5 6 to 10 10 to 30 "always" % 12.1 15.5 10.3 3.5 1.7 5.2 13.8 37.9 55 Such practices make it easy to understand Brown's statement ( 8) that Caribbean corn at first sight appears to be a "hopeless mess." Hybridization and migration are evidently occurring con- stantly and on a relatively large scale. Nevertheless, the oppo- site tendency toward fixation of racial types through careful selection also takes place in Cuba. A large majority- 94 per cent - of all farmers interviewed stated that they selected seed ears carefully and were generally able to demonstrate the character- istics they preferred. TABLE 10 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF FARMERS REPORTING INDICATED SOURCES OF SEED Source of Seed Immediate family Neighbor Purchased in nearby store Obtained from source more than 50 km. distant SELECTION OF EARS FOR SOWING 36.0 42.3 12.4 9.4 Grain type was almost always carefully selected. Farmers in western Cuba tended to reject all ears with light colored, defective looking grains; dented grains were regarded with suspicion. A common superstition states that grains from the tips or butts of ears will produce barren plants; consequently
56 RACES OF MAIZE these are always shelled off before planting. Table 11 indicates types of grain preferred by the Cuban farmers sampled. TABLE 11 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF FARliiEHS STATING PREFERENCE FOil J;o.;J)ICATED TYPE OF GHAIN Type of Grain ------- Large, well filled, strong color Orange flint "Healthy looking" or "well formed" Yellow flint Dent Long, slender grain No preference stated 34.9 20.9 10.4 9.0 9.0 6.0 9.0 Reasons for selection were indicated in twenty-six cases; these are summarized in Table 12. TABLE 12 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF FARMERS STATING INDICATED REASON FOR PREFERRING GRAIN TYPE === -~ - -- -=--- --- Reason for Preference -~-.Better flour (chiefly orange flint) Better price (chiefly orange flint) Better yield or stronger plant Resists granary weevil Characteristic preferred of general type of com Germinates better Healthier to eat Better for chickens % 30.8 19.2 19.2 15.4 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 - --- -- --- -------- While grain type is perhaps the chief basis of selection of seed of the farmer in western Cuba, growers in Oriente tend to select more for certain ear shapes and cob sizes. Farmers growing Maiz Argentino, however, based their choice mainly on color of grain. Table 13 indicates types of cob preference stated by farmers in all of Cuba. A strong preference for straight rows of grain was volunteered by five growers.
HOW CORN IS GROWN IN CUBA TABLE 13 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF FARMERS STATING PREFERENCE FOR INDICA TED TYPE OF COB Cob Type Thin cob Thick cob Medium cob No preference o/o 45.3 22.4 4.5 29.9 Reasons given for selection of Cob type are listed in Table 14. TABLE 14 FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF FARMERS STATING INDICATED REASON FOR PREFERRING COB TYPE Reason for Preference Higher yield Characteristic of general type of com preferred Easier to shell Resists weevil Produces better grain Prettier % 69.7 15.1 6.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 57 High yield was usually given as the reason for preferring the thin-cobbed Canilla race. In this connection it should be under- stood that the Cuban farmer's conception of yield is somewhat confused. Generally, growers were able to state approximately how many ears they harvested, and hence should have the basis for comprehending the idea of yield per unit area of land. The Cuban farmer's concept, however, seems to be that total yield depends ultimately on yield per ear, other things being equal. Consequently, many believe that Mafz Canilla is the highest yielder since its ears consist almost entirely of grain; the energy of the plant is not wasted in producing a large, useless cob. An apparently increasing number of farmers in Oriente province, however, are beginning to reason that the ear which produces the largest number of rows of grain produces the highest yield; such farmers are changing to the Tuson type. Surprisingly, 35.8 per cent of all growers interviewed expressed a strong preference for colored husks, which they believed were resistant to attack by weevils and borers. One farmer exhibited
