Summarises current good agricultural practice in maize cultivation, from seed selection to nutrient management, conservation agriculture, rotations and intercropping;

Part 1 Maize cultivation techniques1.Modelling crop growth and grain yield in maize cultivation: Alam Sher, Xiaoli Liu and Jincai Li, Anhui Agricultural University, China; and Youhong Song, Anhui Agricultural University, China and The University of Queensland, Australia;2.Optimizing maize-based cropping systems: sustainability, good agricultural practices (GAP) and yield goals: Charles Wortmann, Patricio Grassini and Roger W. Elmore, University of Nebraska- Lincoln, USA;3.Maize seed variety selection and seed system development: the case of southern Africa: Peter S. Setimela, Global Maize Program, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Zimbabwe;4.Good agricultural practices for maize cultivation: the case of West Africa: Alpha Kamara, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria;5.Zero-tillage cultivation of maize: Wade E. Thomason, Bee Khim Chim and Mark S. Reiter, Virginia Tech University, USA;6.Conservation agriculture for sustainable intensification of maize and other cereal systems: the case of Latin America: Bram Govaerts, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico; Isabelle François, Consultant, USA; and Nele Verhulst, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico;7.Precision maize cultivation techniques: Louis Longchamps, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada; and Raj Khosla, Colorado State University, USA;8.Improving nutrient management for sustainable intensification of maize: Kaushik Majumdar, International Plant Nutrition Institute - South Asia, India; Shamie Zingore, International Plant Nutrition Institute - sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya; Fernando Garcia and Adrian Correndo, International Plant Nutrition Institute - Latin America - Southern Cone, Argentina; Jagadish Timsina, University of Melbourne, Australia; Adrian M. Johnston, International Plant Nutrition Institute, Canada;9.Crop rotation: a sustainable system for maize production: Bao-Luo Ma, Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; and Zhigang Wang, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, China;10.Intercropping in sustainable maize cultivation: Abeya Temesgen, Shu Fukai and Daniel Rodriguez, The University of Queensland, Australia;11.Climate risk management in maize cropping systems: Daniel Rodriguez, Caspar Roxburgh, Claire Farnsworth, Ariel Ferrante, Joseph Eyre, Stuart Irvine-Brown, James McLean, Martin Bielich, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Australia;12.Advances in maize post-harvest management: Tadele Tefera, International Center of Insect Physiology & Ecology (ICIPE), Ethiopia;Part 2 Maize pests, diseases and weeds13.Economically important insect pests of maize: William D. Hutchison and Theresa M. Cira, University of Minnesota, USA;14.Nematodes associated with maize: T. L. Niblack, The Ohio State University, USA;15.Control of rodent pests in maize cultivation: the case of Africa: Loth S. Mulungu, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania;16.Rapid response to disease outbreaks in maize cultivation: the case of maize lethal necrosis: George Mahuku, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Tanzania and P. Lava Kumar, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria;17.Controlling aflatoxins in maize in Africa: strategies, challenges and opportunities for improvement: Amare Ayalew and Martin Kimanya, Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa, Ethiopia; Limbikani Matumba, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi; Ranajit Bandyopadhayay and Abebe Menkir, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria; Peter Cotty, USDA-ARS, USA;18.Integrated weed management in maize cultivation: an overview: Khawar Jabran, Duzce University, Turkey, Mubshar Hussain, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan and Bhagirath Singh Chauhan, The University of Queensland, Australia;19.Weed management of maize grown under temperate conditions: the case of Europe and the United States: Vasileios P. Vasileiadis and Maurizio Sattin, National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Agro-Environmental and Forest Biology, Italy and Per Kudsk, Aarhus University, Denmark;