Zhangquan Xu ¹ , Xiaoting Cao ² , Shengyue Ye ³ , Jie Wang ⁴

1 Tonglu Jiuyueliangpin family farm Co., Ltd., Tonglu, 311519, Zhejiang, China
2 Hangzhou Jiuyueshenghuo Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.,Tonglu, 311519, Zhejiang, China
3 Tonglu County Agricultural Industrialization Development Service Center, Tonglu, 311500, Zhejiang, China
4 Tonglu County Agricultural Technology Extension Center, Tonglu, 311500, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Maize Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 1   
Received: 20 Dec., 2024    Accepted: 30 Jan., 2025    Published: 11 Feb., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

As consumer demand for high-quality, nutrient-rich, and stress-resistant new varieties grows, the exploration and evaluation of diverse germplasm resources have become central to fresh corn improvement. This review summarizes advancements in the exploration and evaluation of new germplasm resources for fresh corn, dis-cusses the application of traditional and modern technologies in resource development, analyzes achieve-ments in the evaluation of traits such as morphology, nutritional quality, and stress resistance, and identifies current challenges and future research directions. The review highlights that traditional germplasm sources include landrace maize varieties and wild relatives, while modern genomic technologies, such as ge-nome-wide association studies (GWAS) and resequencing, have significantly enhanced resource discovery efficiency. Furthermore, marker-assisted selection (MAS), genomic selection (GS), CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology, and integrated multi-omics approaches have accelerated the breeding of superior varieties. The development of high-sugar varieties and waxy corn demonstrates the remarkable achievements in germplasm exploration, with local germplasm playing a pivotal role in stress-resistance breeding globally. Systematic exploration and scientific evaluation of germplasm resources are crucial for improving the yield, quality, and adaptability of fresh corn. This not only drives the development of new varieties but also pro-vides key solutions to address climate change.

Fresh corn; New germplasm resources; Germplasm evaluation; Stress-resistance breeding; Genomic selection