Multi-Site Evaluation of Accumulated Temperature and Rainfall for Maize Yield and Disease in Loess Plateau

Xiaoyue Wang, Xinghua Zhang, Mingxian Yang, Xiaonan Gou, Binbin Liu, Yinchuan Hao, Shutu Xu, Jiquan Xue, Xiaoliang Qin and Kadambot H. M. Siddique
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Xiaoyue Wang: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Xinghua Zhang: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Mingxian Yang: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Xiaonan Gou: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Binbin Liu: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Yinchuan Hao: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Shutu Xu: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Jiquan Xue: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Xiaoliang Qin: College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Kadambot H. M. Siddique: The UWA Institute of Agriculture and School of Agriculture & Environment, The University of Western Australia, LB 5005, Perth, WA 6001, Australia

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: The Guanzhong region is a typical and important grain-producing area in China. The effect of accumulated temperature and rainfall on maize production is important in the face of global warming. Here, we collected meteorological data from six test sites in the Guanzhong region to study climate change from 1972 to 2018 in this area. A two-year study was conducted at multiple experimental sites to analyze the effect of climatic factors on maize yield and disease in the Guanzhong region. In the past 40 years, average temperatures have significantly increased at all sites, except for Hancheng. Rainfall varied significantly between years at each site, except for Huxian, with an overall declining trend. Accumulated temperature had a significant positive effect on yield (R 2 = 0.28, p = 0.041 < 0.05), but rainfall did not affect yield (R 2 = 0.0971, p = 0.324 > 0.05). During the growing period, total rainfall had a significant positive correlation with northern leaf blight disease in maize, and rainfall before silking had a significant positive correlation with ear length and row grain number. The demand for accumulated temperature by maize differed between sites. It is predicted that maize yield will increase with increasing temperature in the Guanzhong region. Greater attention should be paid to improve agronomic practices, such as adjustment of sowing dates, straw mulching, deep tillage, and pest control to adapt to future climate change.

Keywords: Guanzhong region; temperature; rainfall; yield; disease (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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