{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.maize","code":"thing-q11575","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q11575/","name":"maize","alternateNames":["Bt maize","pod corn","MON 863","Bolivia maize varieties","Ecuador maize varieties"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.LIV"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A cereal grass domesticated in Mesoamerica and now one of the most widely grown crops in the world, cultivated for grain, sweet corn, fodder, flour, oil, syrup and industrial products such as ethanol, in landraces and varieties from Andean and Bolivian maize to pod corn and genetically modified lines such as Bt maize; maize is central to food security, agriculture and culture in many regions and is regulated for seed, biotechnology and trade.","purpose":"Let an agent explain maize as a crop and plant, describe varieties and uses, support cultivation and food questions, and present biotechnology debates with attribution.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Annual cereal","Ears and kernels","Many varieties","Global staple"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"The maize plant.","layers":[{"id":"plant","name":"Plant","description":"Plant and varieties.","findings":[{"id":"plant-finding","name":"Plant","description":"Plant.","questions":[{"text":"What is the botany of maize, and how do dent, flint, sweet, pop, pod and other varieties differ?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific variety?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"origins","name":"Origins","description":"Domestication.","findings":[{"id":"origins-finding","name":"Origins","description":"Domestication.","questions":[{"text":"How was maize domesticated from teosinte in Mesoamerica, and how did it spread, according to archaeologists and geneticists?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What are Andean and other landrace traditions?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"grow","name":"Grow","description":"Cultivation.","layers":[{"id":"cultivate","name":"Cultivate","description":"Growing maize.","findings":[{"id":"cultivate-finding","name":"Cultivate","description":"Cultivation.","questions":[{"text":"How is maize grown, from sowing and fertilisation to harvest, in this climate?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which pests and diseases affect it, and how are they managed?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"seed","name":"Seed","description":"Seed and biotechnology.","findings":[{"id":"seed-finding","name":"Seed","description":"Seed.","questions":[{"text":"How do hybrid and genetically modified maize such as Bt maize work, and how are they regulated here?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What are the attributed positions in debates on GM maize?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Uses of maize.","layers":[{"id":"food","name":"Food","description":"Food uses.","findings":[{"id":"food-finding","name":"Food","description":"Food.","questions":[{"text":"How is maize used in foods such as tortillas, polenta, cornmeal and sweet corn, and what is nixtamalisation?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific dish?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"industry","name":"Industry","description":"Feed and industry.","findings":[{"id":"industry-finding","name":"Industry","description":"Industry.","questions":[{"text":"How is maize used for fodder, starch, syrup, oil and ethanol, and what debates exist about food versus fuel?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Culture and economy.","layers":[{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Maize in culture.","findings":[{"id":"culture-finding","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","questions":[{"text":"What cultural and religious significance does maize hold for Indigenous peoples of the Americas, in their own terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation respectful?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"economy","name":"Economy","description":"Maize economy.","findings":[{"id":"economy-finding","name":"Economy","description":"Economy.","questions":[{"text":"Which countries produce and trade the most maize, and how do prices affect food security?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Monitor maize fields for drought stress, pests and disease for the grower who authorized it.","Report grain moisture, storage conditions and mycotoxin test results.","Explain maize varieties and uses, citing sources."],"mustNot":["Release maize that failed mycotoxin limits into food or feed.","Apply pesticides beyond the label, the permit or the grower's instructions.","Present one side of the genetically modified crop debate as settled fact.","Misstate the variety, origin or organic status of a lot."],"requiresHuman":["Destroying or diverting a contaminated harvest.","Choosing seed or treatments that commit a farm for a season."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Maize feeds hundreds of millions of people; failures and contamination hit the poorest hardest.","Maize is sacred and central to Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures."],"affectedParties":["Farmers","People who eat maize","Livestock fed on it"]},"owners":{"steward":"The grower who farms it; the buyer once sold. Plant variety offices register varieties.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Plant variety registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q11992872","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q192691","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"useful plant","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"annual plant","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"fodder","type":"related","note":"maize as feed"},{"target":"plant disease","type":"related","note":"maize diseases"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.maize","Wikidata: Q11575 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11575)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mature plant height:  m - Height is measured from ground level to the tassel tip and varies with variety and growing conditions.","Kernel moisture content:  % - Moisture is measured using a calibrated grain moisture meter or a drying method with the reporting basis stated.","Thousand-kernel mass:  g - A counted sample of kernels is weighed and expressed as the mass of one thousand kernels at a stated moisture content."]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Ears with rows of kernels","Tall single stalk with tassel","Sorghum and millet are other cereal grasses","Tall annual grass with ears of kernels on a central stalk."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the plant and crop","describe varieties and uses","support cultivation questions","present biotechnology debates"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Crop failure from drought and pests","Mycotoxin contamination","Partisan presentation of GM debates"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Seed certification and variety registration","Biotechnology approval and labelling rules","Grain grading and trade standards"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["A major cereal crop.","dent, flint and flour maize","sweet corn and popcorn","pod corn and landraces","hybrid and genetically modified maize","maize for fodder and industry"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q11575: maize","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11575","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Maize","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each variety group be a separate entry?","How should agronomic guidance be linked?","How should regulations be linked by country?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q11575/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q11575/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T00:11:07Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:25+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}