Narrowing the Agronomic Yield Gaps of Maize by Improved Soil, Cultivar, and Agricultural Management Practices in Different Climate Zones of Northeast China

Abstract

Northeast China (NEC) is one of the major agricultural production areas in China, producing about 30% of China's total maize output. In the past five decades, maize yields in NEC increased rapidly. However, farmer yields still have potential to be increased. Therefore, it is important to quantify the impacts of agronomic factors, including soil physical properties, cultivar selections, and management practices on yield gaps of maize under the changing climate in NEC in order to provide reliable recommendations to narrow down the yield gaps. In this study, the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM)-Maize model was used to separate the contributions of soil physical properties, cultivar selections, and management practices to maize yield gaps. The results indicate that approximately 5%, 12%, and 18% of potential yield loss of maize is attributable to soil physical properties, cultivar selection, and management practices. Simulation analyses showed that potential ascensions of yield of maize by improving soil physical properties PAY s , changing to cultivar with longer maturity PAY c , and improving management practices PAY m for the entire region were 0.6, 1.5, and 2.2 ton ha 21 or 9%, 23%, and 34% increases, respectively, in NEC. In addition, PAY c and PAY m varied considerably from location to location (0.4 to 2.2 and 0.9 to 4.5 ton ha 21 respectively), which may be associated with the spatial variation of growing season temperature and precipitation among climate zones in NEC. Therefore, changing to cultivars with longer growing season requirement and improving management practices are the top strategies for improving yield of maize in NEC, especially for the north and west areas.

Estimation of Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield Per Harvest Area: Appropriate Methods

“…Crop simulation methods can be used to estimate crop growth, yield, and improve agricultural management systems by allowing farmers to be prepared for climatic conditions of the forthcoming season [9,[72][73][74][75]. Crop modelling and remote sensing are two methods that enable government agencies, private industry, and researchers to estimate yield before harvest.…”

“…Potential yield refers to the maximum yield that can be attained by a crop in a given environment [4]. Potential yield is largely determined by a specific combination of factors, such as solar radiation, soil type, temperature, plant density, genetic potential of a given genotype, biotic and abiotic constraints [8][9][10]. However, realized yield, also known as attainable yield, obtained by a farmer is more frequently influenced by poor agricultural practices [9].…”

“…Potential yield is largely determined by a specific combination of factors, such as solar radiation, soil type, temperature, plant density, genetic potential of a given genotype, biotic and abiotic constraints [8][9][10]. However, realized yield, also known as attainable yield, obtained by a farmer is more frequently influenced by poor agricultural practices [9]. Maize yields can be estimated for different purposes, including marketing, estimation of storage requirements, organizing harvest equipment, making decisions about pests and diseases, and for crop improvement.…”

Yield modeling for prediction of regional whole‐crop barley productivity

“…The adjusted R 2 of the constructed model was 51.6% which is not a high value. The yield of crops in field conditions is mainly affected by soil and climatic factors; however, for the artificially cultivated forage crops, management methods such as cultivar selection, timing of fertilization, amount of fertilizing, weed and pests management become the strategic factors affecting the variance of the crop yield (Liu et al, ). Limited to the insufficient current data recording condition, the relevant data set was not prepared in this research.…”

Utilizing Collocated Crop Growth Model Simulations to Train Agronomic Satellite Retrieval Algorithms

“…The results show that different regions expose the crop to different types of environmental stress and the effect caused by changing input parameters depends on the types of stresses present in the environment. However, overall the soil properties, cultivar selection, and management practices are very important to yield; a study [46] with APSIM-maize in Northeast China found that yields can be increased by 9% by improving soil physical properties, by 23% by changing cultivars, and by 34% by improving management practices.…”