A large set of maize silage samples was produced to assess the major traits influencing the biomethane production of this crop. The biomass yield, the volatile solids contents and the biochemical methane potential (BMP) were measured to calculate the biomethane yield per hectare (average = 7266 m(3) ha (1)). The most influential factor controlling the biomethane yield was the cropping environment. The biomass yield had more impact than the anaerobic digestibility. Nevertheless, the anaerobic digestibility of maize silages was negatively affected by high VS content in mature maize. Late maturing maize varieties produced high biomass yield with high digestibility resulting in high biomethane yield per hectare. The BMP was predicted with good accuracy using solely the VS content. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.