Weather During Key Growth Stages Explains Grain Quality and Yield of Maize

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield and compositional quality are interrelated and are highly influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, total precipitation, and soil water storage. Our aim was to develop a regression model to account for this relationship among grain yield and compositional quality traits across a large geographical region. Three key growth periods were used to develop algorithms based on the week of emergence, the week of 50% silking, and the week of maturity that enabled collection and modeling of the effect of weather and climatic variables across the major maize growing region of the United States. Principal component analysis (PCA), stepwise linear regression models, and hierarchical clustering analyses were used to evaluate the multivariate relationship between weather, grain quality, and yield. Two PCAs were found that could identify superior grain compositional quality as a result of ideal environmental factors as opposed to low-yielding conditions. Above-average grain protein and oil levels were favored by less nitrogen leaching during early vegetative growth and higher temperatures at flowering, while greater oil than protein concentrations resulted from lower temperatures during flowering and grain fill. Water availability during flowering and grain fill was highly explanatory of grain yield and compositional quality.

Soybean Yield and Seed Composition Changes in Response to Increasing Atmospheric CO2 Concentration in Short-Season Canada

“…A moderate correlation was declared when 0.3 < |r| ≤ 0.7 and strong correlations when 0.7 < |r| ≤ 1.0. A threshold of |r| < 0.5 was used to exclude parameters from multiple linear regression following Wilmsmeyer et al [47]. Stepwise multiple linear regression (Proc Reg, STEPWISE, SAS, Cary NC) was used to investigate the factors that were significant in determining soybean seed yield and composition including genetic improvement rate (as year of release), [CO 2 ], and the climate parameters, pptn, average Tmax and average Tmin during the three phenological phases, V, FP, and SF.…”

Determination of Equilibrium Moisture Content in Trade Distribution

“…The highest relative humidity (74±1.73%) was found in the location maize after threshing. Determination of relative humidity and temperature in maize storage will help the trader to keep the quality and safety of raw materials for process controlling and food preservation (Butts-Wilmsmeyer et al, 2019;Palacious et al, 2019). Temperature and relative humidity are important factors in grain storage, due to its effect to EMC (Hanif et al, 2018).…”

Towards seasonal forecasting of maize yield in eastern Africa: skill in the forecast model chain as a basis for agricultural climate services

“…Yield variability is not explained by rainfall in Bungoma probably because of sufficient soil moisture or rainfall. Water availability during anthesis and in the reproductive stage are found highly explanatory of grain yields (Armstrong, 1999;Butts-Wilmsmeyer et al, 2019). Since both water and temperature during anthesis and reproductive stage are known to affect yields, we conclude that sufficient water requirements could be the only reason why temperature indicators explain yields but not rainfall indicators.…”

“…In other studies however, water availability during anthesis and grain filling stage have been found highly ex-Chapter 4. Sensitivity and Predictability of Rain-fed Maize Yields to Growing Season Climate Indices: East Africa planatory of-and-results in high grain yield (Armstrong, 1999;Butts-Wilmsmeyer et al, 2019). Because both rainfall and temperatures are important in all stages of maize growth, we hypothesize that regionally varying sensitivities may be a function of other factors not examined such as soil characteristics and soil moisture availability during each phenological stage.…”

“…This does not however invalidate the importance of rainfall indicators during anthesis. Rather, the influence of rainfall attributes may be muted by adequate soil moisture since both water availability during anthesis and extreme temperature episodes affect maize yields (Butts-Wilmsmeyer et al, 2019;Hatfield and Dold, 2018). Anthesis period average minimum temperature and daily temperature are predictable in all the three lead-times in both North-Gonder and Bungoma.…”