Breeding Dual-Purpose Maize: Grain Production and Biofuel Conversion of the Stover

Abstract

The improvement of maize double cropping has become increasingly important in recent years. In order to establish breeding programs for sustainable maize production, the goals of the research were (i) to understand the correlations between grain and stover yield and saccharification efficiency, and (ii) to identify QTL and metabolic pathways to design of breeding programs in a double exploitation approach. We carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a metabolic pathway analysis using a panel of highly diverse maize inbreds. As results, we have obtained that the regulation of energetic and developmental pathways have been pointed out as key pathways related to stover quantity and utilization, while no specific pathways could be identified in relation to grain yield. However, due to the moderate high heritability of yields and their positive correlation a phenotypic selection approach would be adequate for the improvement of both yields, while for saccharification efficiency improvement upcoming genomic selection models are more advisable. Overall, breeding strategies that manage the dual use of maize are viable and will contribute to a more sustainable maize crop in the near future.

Application of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy to Determine Saccharification Efficiency of Corn Biomass

“…These ranges were wider and higher than previous works with other crop species such as rice, barley, wheat, triticale, sorghum, miscanthus or brachypodium [30][31][32][33]. This great range of enzyme-released glucose was expected due to the broad origins of the samples and the environmental variability tested (two large panels tested from 2016 to 2019) [1,34] and may suggest that many shifts will be represented in new germplasm phenotyping screenings.…”

Morphological parameters, heritability, yield component correlation, and multivariate analysis to determine secondary characters in selecting hybrid maize

“…The level of genetic diversity among available breeding materials determines the potential success of a breeding program, offering opportunities to develop new plants with desired characteristics that are preferred by farmers (Terfa and Gurmu 2020;Zawadi et al 2021). Character improvement through direct selection can be implemented for traits with high genetic diversity marked through heritability values (Gesteiro et al 2023).…”

Mentha suaveolens as Allelopathic Biomass for Weed Control: Phenolics, Organic Acids, and Volatile Organic Compounds Profiles

“…Presently, about 1200 million tons of grain from about 206 million ha of land is produced worldwide [31]. Moreover, improvements in maize double cropping for grain production and stover biofuel conversion have become increasingly important in recent years [32]. Among the biotic (insects, pests, predators, weeds, etc.)…”