Help me select the best crop for biofuel production on Mars!

[Sofa King Cute]

Dear community, I have a pretty large greenhouse on Mars that is aimed at producing biomass for Volatiles production to reliably create water (and heat for Sirlings / Furnace) by running an H2 combustor.

Please help me select the best crop for turning into biomass.

Ferns?
Only produce 2x fruit but have a very low grow time. Plus, they create additional O2 ...?

Corn?
The Wiki says corn benefits from more light exposure. I have my growlights set to activate at a vertical solar angle of more than 110 degrees - will corn outperform another crop if I play with lighting even more?

Wheat?
Seems to be a good allrounder. After a while, my wheat plants have started producing 5x planst instead of the standard 3 ...

Rice?
I have seen people on youtube use rice - but it has the same grow time as wheat and uses more water?

Please let me know your thoughts!

[starfish prime]

Try switchgrass. You asked if crops benefit from more light exposure, the answer is yes. That's one reason why I don't use the solar angle for lighting. It's just easier to tweak with some adjustments to seconds.

[powerkek]

Yes, switchgrass for sure. 15 items per harvest can't be beat, and for biomass you only care about the number of items not nutrition.

In regards to light. Plants only grow when lit, and grow faster the more intense light they are getting (so keep your grow lights on even in direct sunlight). They just need to spend some minimum amount of time in darkness every day. Corn doesn't need as much darkness. It is a slow growing crop though to make up for its nutritional value, so I don't think it will outperform anything.

[Sofa King Cute]

Thanks for the tips, guys. Unfortunately, I do not have any switchgras but only the seeds provided on the lander. What would be the next best option without tradeables?