IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v188y2017icp126-135.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impacts of water availability and drought on maize yield – A comparison of 16 indicators

Author

Listed:
  • Žalud, Zdeněk
  • Hlavinka, Petr
  • Prokeš, Karel
  • Semerádová, Daniela
  • Balek Jan,
  • Trnka, Miroslav

Abstract

Agricultural drought causes serious yield losses for rainfed crops (including C4 crops) and is a cause of higher costs incurred by irrigation use. Drought episodes have been more frequent in Central Europe in recent years and have caused problems in terms of crop and livestock production due to a lack of available feed. The main aim of this study is to examine 16 water availability indicators (suitable for the evaluation of agricultural drought) to help explain maize silage yields. A parallel aim is to determine the period during which current maize hybrids for silage are the most vulnerable to water availability shortages. These aims reflect a current need for accurate drought impact assessment methods that can be applied as an early warning system or as part of a decision making protocol. For the purposes of this study, data from rainfed silage maize field experiments conducted between 2011 and 2015 in 4 locations (throughout the Czech Republic) were used. Relatively high correlations were found using precipitation totals for July alone, as this simple indicator explained 64% of the observed variability in the average silage yields of maize. Overall, the highest R2 (coefficient of determination) of 0.77 was obtained when the sum of actual evapotranspiration (ETa) for May to August was applied as an independent variable. This indicator also gave the most consistent response for all of the individually assessed months. The lowest ETa totals from May to August occurred during an extremely dry year (2015). The significance of this drought episode was exacerbated by its spatial extent and severe impacts on regional maize silage yields throughout the entire Czech Republic. The selection of hybrids according to FAO numbers has not been proven (based on included data) to serve as an adequate adaptation measure for severe episodes of drought, although higher FAO values should provide slightly higher yields in such cases. The recommendation for farmers is not to rely on one hybrid alone, but instead use hybrids with different FAO values for a given year.

Suggested Citation

  • Žalud, Zdeněk & Hlavinka, Petr & Prokeš, Karel & Semerádová, Daniela & Balek Jan, & Trnka, Miroslav, 2017. "Impacts of water availability and drought on maize yield – A comparison of 16 indicators," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 126-135.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:188:y:2017:i:c:p:126-135
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2017.04.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377417301439
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2017.04.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Saseendran, S.A. & Ahuja, Lajpat R. & Ma, Liwang & Trout, Thomas J. & McMaster, Gregory S. & Nielsen, David C. & Ham, Jay M. & Andales, Allan A. & Halvorson, Ardel D. & Chávez, José L. & Fang, Quanxia, 2015. "Developing and normalizing average corn crop water production functions across years and locations using a system model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 65-77.
    2. Hlavinka, Petr & Trnka, Miroslav & Balek, Jan & Semerádová, Daniela & Hayes, Michael & Svoboda, Mark & Eitzinger, Josef & Mozný, Martin & Fischer, Milan & Hunt, Eric & Zalud, Zdenek, 2011. "Development and evaluation of the SoilClim model for water balance and soil climate estimates," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(8), pages 1249-1261, May.
    3. Miroslav Trnka & Reimund P. Rötter & Margarita Ruiz-Ramos & Kurt Christian Kersebaum & Jørgen E. Olesen & Zdeněk Žalud & Mikhail A. Semenov, 2014. "Adverse weather conditions for European wheat production will become more frequent with climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(7), pages 637-643, July.
    4. Miroslav Trnka & Kurt Kersebaum & Josef Eitzinger & Michael Hayes & Petr Hlavinka & Mark Svoboda & Martin Dubrovský & Daniela Semerádová & Brian Wardlow & Eduard Pokorný & Martin Možný & Don Wilhite &, 2013. "Consequences of climate change for the soil climate in Central Europe and the central plains of the United States," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 120(1), pages 405-418, September.
    5. Gheysari, Mahdi & Mirlatifi, Seyed Majid & Bannayan, Mohammad & Homaee, Mehdi & Hoogenboom, Gerrit, 2009. "Interaction of water and nitrogen on maize grown for silage," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 809-821, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jurečka, František & Fischer, Milan & Hlavinka, Petr & Balek, Jan & Semerádová, Daniela & Bláhová, Monika & Anderson, Martha C. & Hain, Christopher & Žalud, Zdeněk & Trnka, Miroslav, 2021. "Potential of water balance and remote sensing-based evapotranspiration models to predict yields of spring barley and winter wheat in the Czech Republic," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    2. Miroslav Trnka & Jan Balek & Rudolf Brázdil & Martin Dubrovský & Josef Eitzinger & Petr Hlavinka & Filip Chuchma & Martin Možný & Ilja Prášil & Pavel Růžek & Daniela Semerádová & Petr Štěpánek & Pavel, 2021. "Observed changes in the agroclimatic zones in the Czech Republic between 1961 and 2019," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 67(3), pages 154-163.
    3. Holzkämper, Annelie, 2020. "Varietal adaptations matter for agricultural water use – a simulation study on grain maize in Western Switzerland," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    4. García-León, David & Contreras, Sergio & Hunink, Johannes, 2019. "Comparison of meteorological and satellite-based drought indices as yield predictors of Spanish cereals," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 388-396.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Trnka, Miroslav & Vizina, Adam & Hanel, Martin & Balek, Jan & Fischer, Milan & Hlavinka, Petr & Semerádová, Daniela & Štěpánek, Petr & Zahradníček, Pavel & Skalák, Petr & Eitzinger, Josef & Dubrovský,, 2022. "Increasing available water capacity as a factor for increasing drought resilience or potential conflict over water resources under present and future climate conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    2. Potopová, V. & Trnka, M. & Vizina, A. & Semerádová, D. & Balek, J. & Chawdhery, M.R.A. & Musiolková, M. & Pavlík, P. & Možný, M. & Štěpánek, P. & Clothier, B., 2022. "Projection of 21st century irrigation water requirements for sensitive agricultural crop commodities across the Czech Republic," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    3. Ding, Yimin & Wang, Weiguang & Song, Ruiming & Shao, Quanxi & Jiao, Xiyun & Xing, Wanqiu, 2017. "Modeling spatial and temporal variability of the impact of climate change on rice irrigation water requirements in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 89-101.
    4. Jose Oteros & Herminia García-Mozo & Roser Botey & Antonio Mestre & Carmen Galán, 2015. "Variations in cereal crop phenology in Spain over the last twenty-six years (1986–2012)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 130(4), pages 545-558, June.
    5. Liu, Xing & Lehtonen, Heikki & Purola, Tuomo & Pavlova, Yulia & Rötter, Reimund & Palosuo, Taru, 2016. "Dynamic economic modelling of crop rotations with farm management practices under future pest pressure," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 65-76.
    6. Nicole Costa Resende Ferreira & Jarbas Honorio Miranda, 2021. "Projected changes in corn crop productivity and profitability in Parana, Brazil," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 3236-3250, March.
    7. Milica Kanjevac & Biljana Bojović & Andrija Ćirić & Milan Stanković & Dragana Jakovljević, 2022. "Seed Priming Improves Biochemical and Physiological Performance of Wheat Seedlings under Low-Temperature Conditions," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    8. Andersen, Lykke E. & Breisinger, Clemens & Jemio, Luis Carlos & Mason-D’Croz, Daniel & Ringler, Claudia & Robertson, Richard D. & Verner, Dorte & Wiebelt, Manfred, 2016. "Climate change impacts and household resilience: Prospects for 2050 in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru," Food policy reports 978-0-89629-581-0, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Sonia Quiroga & Cristina Suárez & Juan Diego Solís & Pablo Martínez-Juárez, 2017. "A microeconometric analysis of climate change drivers for coffee crops transition to cacao in Mesoamerican countries," Proceedings of Economics and Finance Conferences 4507415, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    10. Dai, Zhiguang & Fei, Liangjun & Huang, Deliang & Zeng, Jian & Chen, Lin & Cai, Yaohui, 2019. "Coupling effects of irrigation and nitrogen levels on yield, water and nitrogen use efficiency of surge-root irrigated jujube in a semiarid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 146-154.
    11. Ma, L. & Ahuja, L.R. & Islam, A. & Trout, T.J. & Saseendran, S.A. & Malone, R.W., 2017. "Modeling yield and biomass responses of maize cultivars to climate change under full and deficit irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PA), pages 88-98.
    12. Chilundo, Mario & Joel, Abraham & Wesström, Ingrid & Brito, Rui & Messing, Ingmar, 2018. "Influence of irrigation and fertilisation management on the seasonal distribution of water and nitrogen in a semi-arid loamy sandy soil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 120-137.
    13. Wittwer, Raphaël A. & Klaus, Valentin H. & Miranda Oliveira, Emily & Sun, Qing & Liu, Yujie & Gilgen, Anna K. & Buchmann, Nina & van der Heijden, Marcel G.A., 2023. "Limited capability of organic farming and conservation tillage to enhance agroecosystem resilience to severe drought," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    14. Sabina Thaler & Herbert Formayer & Gerhard Kubu & Miroslav Trnka & Josef Eitzinger, 2021. "Effects of Bias-Corrected Regional Climate Projections and Their Spatial Resolutions on Crop Model Results under Different Climatic and Soil Conditions in Austria," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-39, October.
    15. Ludmila Floková & Tomáš Mikita, 2023. "Landscape-Scale Long-Term Drought Prevalence Mapping for Small Municipalities Adaptation, the Czech Republic Case Study," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, October.
    16. Gheysari, Mahdi & Pirnajmedin, Fatemeh & Movahedrad, Hamid & Majidi, Mohammad Mahdi & Zareian, Mohammad Javad, 2021. "Crop yield and irrigation water productivity of silage maize under two water stress strategies in semi-arid environment: Two different pot and field experiments," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    17. Rostamza, Mina & Chaichi, Mohammad-Reza & Jahansouz, Mohammad-Reza & Alimadadi, Ahmad, 2011. "Forage quality, water use and nitrogen utilization efficiencies of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) grown under different soil moisture and nitrogen levels," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(10), pages 1607-1614, August.
    18. Bucheli, Janic & Visse, Margot & Herrera, Juan & Häner, Lilia Levy & Tack, Jesse & Finger, Robert, 2022. "Precipitation causes quality losses of economic relevance in wheat production," 96th Annual Conference, April 4-6, 2022, K U Leuven, Belgium 321208, Agricultural Economics Society - AES.
    19. Elise Wach, 2021. "Market Dependency as Prohibitive of Agroecology and Food Sovereignty—A Case Study of the Agrarian Transition in the Scottish Highlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, February.
    20. Wu, Hui & Yue, Qiong & Guo, Ping & Xu, Xiaoyu & Huang, Xi, 2022. "Improving the AquaCrop model to achieve direct simulation of evapotranspiration under nitrogen stress and joint simulation-optimization of irrigation and fertilizer schedules," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:188:y:2017:i:c:p:126-135. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.