Breeding and Genetics of Maize

Dear Colleagues,

Maize (Zea mays. L) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. Its cultivation history can be traced back to Mexico at least 4000 years ago, and it is widely cultivated worldwide. The germplasm resources of maize are rich, including maize varieties of different forms, colors, or nutrients. In order to meet the increasing food demands of people, maize breeding and genetic research are indispensable links in agricultural production, which covers mining genetic resources, the functional analysis of key genes, genetic breeding methods, and technical system improvements, including the traditional methods, such as selection, hybridization, germplasm improvement, and other means to improve the traits of maize varieties, and the modern methods to make more direct modifications to maize genes through gene editing and transformation technologies to ameliorate maize varieties quickly and precisely without large-scale changes to the genetic genome. With the development of molecular genetics and other related disciplines, the methods and techniques of maize breeding research are constantly innovative, which aim to explore more efficient and sustainable methods of maize breeding and genetic improvement and strive to develop more new varieties that are efficient, highly nutritious, and adaptable to different climatic conditions. This Special Issue focuses on recent advances in the breeding and genetics of maize, inviting all types of articles, such as research papers and methods, reviews, and opinions.

Prof. Dr. Yurong Xie
Dr. Xiupeng Mei
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• maize
• breeding
• genetics
• yield
• improvement
• novel breeding techniques
• genome editing