Global Synthesis of Drought Effects on Maize and Wheat Production

Abstract

Drought has been a major cause of agricultural disaster, yet how it affects the vulnerability of maize and wheat production in combination with several co-varying factors (i.e., phenological phases, agro-climatic regions, soil texture) remains unclear. Using a data synthesis approach, this study aims to better characterize the effects of those co-varying factors with drought and to provide critical information on minimizing yield loss. We collected data from peer-reviewed publications between 1980 and 2015 which examined maize and wheat yield responses to drought using field experiments. We performed unweighted analysis using the log response ratio to calculate the bootstrapped confidence limits of yield responses and calculated drought sensitivities with regards to those co-varying factors. Our results showed that yield reduction varied with species, with wheat having lower yield reduction (20.6%) compared to maize (39.3%) at approximately 40% water reduction. Maize was also more sensitive to drought than wheat, particularly during reproductive phase and equally sensitive in the dryland and non-dryland regions. While no yield difference was observed among regions or different soil texture, wheat cultivation in the dryland was more prone to yield loss than in the non-dryland region. Informed by these results, we discuss potential causes and possible approaches that may minimize drought impacts.

Can ridge-furrow plastic mulching replace irrigation in dryland wheat and maize cropping systems?

“…2b). Maize, in particular, was sensitive to drought during the reproductive phase, to the point that yield could not be recovered even with subsequent irrigation due to flower sterility and asynchrony between anthesis and silking (Daryanto et al, 2016).…”

“…The ratio between irrigation and rainfall ranged between 0.3 and 4.9. If a study was conducted across different years or study sites with similar agro-ecological features, or reported more than one amount of irrigation, all observations were considered independent and included in the database (Daryanto et al, 2016).…”

“…During the last five decades , grain production has increased dramatically from about 113x10 6 tons to 512 x10 6 tons in China (~3% increase annually) (Cui et al, 2010). Currently, China is the largest producer of wheat and only second after the United States (US) in terms of global maize production (Daryanto et al, 2016). One water-saving strategy that may have contributed to the increase is the adoption of plastic mulching technology that is most commonly used in northern China for maize and wheat production.…”

Variance components and heritability of yield and yield components of wheat under drought-stressed and non-stressed conditions

“…L; 2n=6x=42, AABBDD) production and productivity is challenged by periodic drought and heat stresses associated with climate change (Alexandratos and Bruinsma, 2012;Daryanto et al, 2016). A decreasing trend is witnessed in the total production area and productivity of wheat and other long cycle cereal crops under dryland production conditions globally (Simelton et al, 2012;Lesk et al, 2016).…”

Comparative Physiological and Morphological Characterization of Salt Tolerance in Raphanus sativus L.

“…The biotic stress reduces growth, yield and modifies the morphological and physiological attributes in subjected plants [5]. Reduced dry matter production has been observed in plants under stress [6].…”