Stephen Smith

Bolivia

Maize culture appears only about 1250-500 B.C. in Bolivia. Numerous languages exists here, as it is considered a center for linguistics with the numerous Indians that inhabit the country. Maize here is cultivated by mainly small farmers and the terrain, climate, and crop uses make the choice of varieties very vital. As seen in Bolivia and Peru, a great part of the variability of maize here is the selection for a larger range of adaptability, usually by irrigation. Corn in Bolivia was influenced by the Inca and even today many Peruvian landraces are grown in Bolivia for their productivity. Many of the races from Bolivia have multiple uses and these uses are not quite well known in terms of specific variety. Parched/roasted, green, boiled, chicha, and flour are all uses for maize in Bolivia.