Development Trend of Genetic Improvement of High Protein Maize

Abstract

Global maize production has maintained significant growth in recent years, with total output reaching approximately 1.2 billion tons by 2024. As China's primary food and feed crop, maize holds a core strategic position in the national food security framework. High-protein maize plays a pivotal role in enhancing crop nutritional capacity and global food supply security. Given China's heavy reliance on international markets for protein raw materials, developing and promoting high-protein maize varieties has become a critical approach to alleviating protein resource shortages. Research indicates that high-protein maize not only effectively improves feed self-sufficiency rates and reduces soybean meal supplementation ratios, but also mitigates nitrogen emissions in livestock farming at the source, significantly contributing to building a green and sustainable agricultural economy. This paper systematically examines the nutritional properties of high-protein maize, particularly its applications in human diets and livestock breeding, while providing a comprehensive review of its breeding progress and current research status. It was further analyzed on challenges in the promotion and application of high-protein maize, such as insufficient germplasm resource exploration and the lack of high-quality specialized varieties. The paper proposes solutions including strengthening germplasm innovation and optimizing breeding technology systems, aiming to provide theoretical references for the industrial development and utilization of high-protein maize in China.