Energy balance in maize (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

Corn is a crop of wide importance worldwide and is present in many items of the human and animal diet. It is a plant that has a very large photosynthetic capacity due to its C4 metabolism, a highly efficient mechanism in terms of atmospheric carbon uptake and transformation into biochemical energy. Thus, this work aimed to calculate, through the enthalpies of chemical bonds, the energy produced by a corn plant during its cycle. The data obtained during the study were obtained from the results of scientific research on plant development. From the obtained results, it was possible to observe that corn produces a lot of energy during a cycle and that the energy stored in the grains produced by the plant is completely negligible compared to that produced. Therefore, this study proves the idea that the plant consumes, in respiration, only 40 to 60% of what was produced in photosynthesis, which would require further studies to elucidate this issue.