Maize is one of the world's highest value crops, with a multibillion dollar annual contribution to agriculture. The great adaptability and high yield of maize as a food, feed and forage crop have led to its production on a massive scale, with acreage expanding at the expense of other crops. Maize has developed in its non-food usage, comprising a major source of ethanol for fuel in the United States. In addition, maize has occupied center stage in the transgenic plant controversy, serving as one of the first food crops with commercialized transgenic varieties. The release of the genome sequence of maize in 2008 will indicate the structure and gene content of the first average-size plant genome and will be the most complex genome sequenced from any organism to date.

"Handbook of Maize: Its Biology centers on the past, present and future of maize as a model for plant science research and crop improvement. The book includes brief, focused chapters from the foremost maize experts and features a succinct collection of informative images representing the maize germplasm collection."

Vegetative Shoot Meristems.- Development of the Inflorescences.- The Maize Floral Transition.- The Maize Male Gametophyte.- The Maize Megagametophyte.- Patterning of the Maize Embryo and the Perspective of Evolutionary Developmental Biology.- Kernel Biology.- The Maize Root System: Morphology, Anatomy, and Genetics.- Axial Patterning of the Maize Leaf.- Cell Biology of Maize Leaf Development.- Light Signal Transduction Networks in Maize.- Maize Disease Resistance.- Virus Resistance.- Genetics and Biochemistry of Insect Resistance in Maize.- Chilling Stress in Maize Seedlings.- Drought Tolerance in Maize.- Responses to Oxygen Deprivation and Potential for Enhanced Flooding Tolerance in Maize.- Maize Al Tolerance.- Maize Under Phosphate Limitation.- Agronomic Traits and Maize Modifications: Nitrogen Use Efficiency.- Seed Phosphate.- Seed Starch Synthesis.- Heterosis.- Increasing Yield.- The Illinois Long-Term Selection Experiment, Related Studies, and Perspectives.- QTL for Agronomic Traits in Maize Production.- The Mexican Landraces: Description, Classification and Diversity.- Production, Breeding and Process of Maize in China.