* Semideciduous forest:
 Located in the northern part of
 the forest zone, the semidecidu-
 ous forest production sone expe-
 riences six to seven humid
 months, with rainfall distrib-
 uted bimodally in most areas.
 Two growing seasons are distin-
 guished. Soils are generally not
 acidic.

* Derived and southern
 Guinea savannas:
 Encompassing the forest/
 savanna transition zone and
 the southern part of the Guinea
 savanna, this production zone
 experiences five to six humid
 months. Vegetation in much of
 the transition zone is derived
 savanna, because more forest
 has been cleared and fallow
 periods are becoming shorter.
 Rainfall may be unimodal or
 bimodal.

* Northern Guinea savanna:
 The northern Guinea savanna
 experiences four to five humid
 months. Insolation during the
 brief maize-growing season is
 high, and the long dry season
 limits the incidence of pests and
 diseases.

* Midaltitude zone: This "zone"
 actually consists of isolated
 areas ranging from 1,500 to
 1,800 masl. High insolation
 and cool temperatures make
 midaltitude areas possible high-
 potential locations for maize
 production.


harvested during the rainy season,
which leads to storage problems
and reduces the attractiveness of
maize compared to other food crops.
Partly because of the difficulty of
storing dried grain, most maize
produced in the humid lowland for-
est is consumed green.

In the semideciduous lowland
forest, which covers a significant
part of the Cocoa Belt of West
Africa, maize is second in impor-
tance after cassava, with which it is
often associated. The two crops are
planted mainly during the first
rainy season; after maize is har-
vested, cassava may occupy the
land for up to two additional years.
Groundnuts are grown with low-
density maize in some areas,
including southeastern C6te
d'Ivoire and central Ghana. Second-
season maize is often grown in the
semideciduous forest zone, but its
success depends on the incidence of
certain pests and diseases (e.g.,


stem borers and maize streak
virus), as well as on the amount
and distribution of rainfall during
the second rainy season.

The derived and southern
Guinea savannas are the most
important maize-growing areas in
western and central Africa. Crop-
ping patterns vary widely, but
typically maize is planted first in
the rotation. After one and a half to
two months, sorghum is often relay
planted into the maize. This prac-
tice takes advantage of the full
rainy season, as photoperiod-
sensitive sorghum completes its
cycle on residual moisture after the
rains have stopped. In many areas
of the derived and southern Guinea
savannas, farmers interplant
groundnuts with low-density maize.
Sorghum is also relayed into this
mixture. In wetter areas, mounds
for yams are prepared in the
sorghum crop following the harvest
of maize or groundnuts; the yams


-c .- ---~ -. -- ---~


iSemideciduous
 forest
 bimodall)

 Derived and
 southern
Guinea savanna


Northern
Guinea
savanna


Midaltitude
 zone


 (same or other
 Combinations)


 (same or other combinations)



M (same or other combinations)


Note: 4as Yam emerges with first rains after maize and sorghum are harvested.

Figure 6. Typical mixed cropping patterns involving maize in major
agroecological zones, western and central Africa.