Journal of Energy Bioscience 2025, Vol.16, No.4, 182-192 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/jeb 183 there is enough sunlight and whether the soil is polluted will also affect maize yield (Yang et al., 2019; Wyszkowski and Kordala, 2024; Yan et al., 2024). We will also discuss the chemical composition of maize, when to harvest, and what varieties to choose, which also affect biogas production and energy conversion efficiency (Herrmann and Rath, 2012; Jankowski et al., 2020). Finally, we combined research from different disciplines and proposed several cutting-edge ideas, hoping to help further increase the biomass yield of energy corn. 2 Energy Maize: Biology and Biomass Potential 2.1 Botanical background The biomass yield of corn is closely related to its physiological and structural characteristics. The stalk is the main part of corn biomass, accounting for about half of the total dry weight. How thick the stalk is, how tall the corn grows, how thick the epidermis is, and the number and size of vascular bundles all affect the amount of biomass and energy (Mazaheri et al., 2019). In addition, leaf area and tillering (that is, how many branches grow) will also affect the efficiency of photosynthesis, which in turn affects the growth and yield of corn. These traits vary greatly between different corn varieties. These differences are caused by genetic diversity and are a good resource for breeding (Rincent et al., 2014; Mazaheri et al., 2019). 2.2 Yield components The composition of biomass corn and ordinary grain corn is significantly different in yield. Biomass corn mainly focuses on the yield of dry matter of the whole plant, such as stems, leaves, bracts and cobs, while grain corn focuses more on the yield of grains (White et al., 2012; Ambrosio et al., 2017). Generally speaking, biomass corn grows taller and has thicker stems, and the nutrients of the plant are more distributed to the stems and leaves, so the grains are relatively less. Studies have found that there is a trade-off between these two yields. If the stems and leaves grow more, the grains may be less (White et al., 2012). In addition, management methods such as the amount of nitrogen fertilizer and the density of planting have different effects on biomass yield and grain yield (White et al., 2012; Ambrosio et al., 2017). 2.3 Cultivar types High-biomass hybrid corn and ordinary grain corn have many differences in variety sources and appearance traits. For example, some high-biomass varieties are hybrids of temperate and tropical varieties. This type of corn grows taller, matures later, has thicker stalks, and contains more sugar in the stalks, making it more suitable for use as an energy crop (White et al., 2012; Rincent et al., 2014). The nutrients of these high-biomass varieties are mainly concentrated in the stems and leaves, while traditional grain-type varieties focus more on grain yields (White et al., 2012). Through genetic and morphological analysis, it was found that different corn hybrid groups, such as Dent and Flint, also have many differences in biomass yield. This shows that there is still potential to increase energy corn yields through breeding and hybridization methods (Rincent et al., 2014). 3 Genetic Basis of Biomass Accumulation 3.1 QTL mapping and GWAS studies. The researchers used QTL positioning and GWAS methods to find some genetic loci that control maize biomass accumulation. They used high-throughput phenotyping technology and 50k SNP chips to find 12 major trait-associated loci (MTA) and 6 pairs of interaction loci at different growth stages of maize. This shows that biomass accumulation is controlled by multiple genes with small effects, and the expression of these loci is different at different stages (Muraya et al., 2017). In the two maize varieties, Dent and Flint, the study also found some QTLs related to biomass, plant height, and flowering time. However, these QTLs are not very stable under different environments, but overall, they show rich genetic differences, which is a good thing for breeding (Rincent et al., 2014). In addition, a study conducted a GWAS analysis specifically on stalk biomass and structural characteristics, and found 16 potentially related genes, which are related to processes such as gene expression and cell division (Mazaheri et al., 2019).
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