Trends in Maize Grain Yields across Five Maturity Groups in a Long-Term Experiment with Changing Genotypes

Ivica Buhiniček, Dražen Kaučić, Zdravko Kozić, Mirko Jukić, Jerko Gunjača, Hrvoje Šarčević, Domagoj Stepinac and Domagoj Šimić
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Ivica Buhiniček: Bc Institute for Breeding and Production of Field Crops, Rugvica, Dugoselska 7, 10370 Dugo Selo, Croatia
Dražen Kaučić: Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service, Ravnice 48, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Zdravko Kozić: Bc Institute for Breeding and Production of Field Crops, Rugvica, Dugoselska 7, 10370 Dugo Selo, Croatia
Mirko Jukić: Bc Institute for Breeding and Production of Field Crops, Rugvica, Dugoselska 7, 10370 Dugo Selo, Croatia
Jerko Gunjača: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Hrvoje Šarčević: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Domagoj Stepinac: Bc Institute for Breeding and Production of Field Crops, Rugvica, Dugoselska 7, 10370 Dugo Selo, Croatia
Domagoj Šimić: Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Molecular Plant Breeding (CroP-BioDiv), Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: Combining experimental studies on grain yield variability with crop model simulations in maize could assist in choosing the optimum maturity group for a certain location, counteracting the effect of climate change. However, studies considering specificities in Southeast Europe are lacking. The objectives were to put various environmental covariates including stress degree days (SDD) into FAO maturity settings to determine the impact of climate change on maize growing in Southeast Europe and to compare trends for grain yields over twenty years of maize experimental and simulation data grouped in five FAO maturity groups (FAO 200–FAO 600). Pre-registration yield trials of maize planted in one location in Croatia grown from 1996 to 2015 were used to determine “potential yield”. Correlation coefficients between 12 climate covariates and grain yield (GY) across the maturity groups revealed the tightest negative associations between SDD and GY that were weakened by later-maturity groups. Similar trends in GY were obtained by both experimental and simulation data, highlighting FAO 600 as a nearly no yield-reducing FAO group over the two decades. Our results indicate that choosing early maize hybrids in Southeast Europe does not seem to be an optimum option in the future, since these hybrids are more sensitive to omnipresent heat stress than late hybrids.

Keywords: maize hybrids; grain yield; relative maturity; heat stress; Southeast Europe (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
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:11:y:2021:i:9:p:887-:d:636319

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