MARS Bulletin Vol.22 No 7 (2014) - Good EU-28 cereal yields and positive summer crops outlook

Crop Monitoring in EuropeJRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

A Tale of Two Countries: Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Rice Productivity in China and Brazil

This paper looks at differences in spatial and temporal variation of rice yields in China and Brazil. We find that rice yields in China have converged over time and that rice production has become more and more homogeneous. In contrast, rice yields in Brazil have diverged over time, primarily due to variations in upland rice yields. Three hypotheses are put forward to explain the different behaviour of rice yields in Brazil and China: (i) differences in production systems (i.e., irrigated in China versus upland in Brazil); (ii) changes in rainfall patterns and (iii) bias in agricultural R&D favouring irrigated rice. Our empirical analysis provides support to the first two hypotheses by establishing that upland rice is subjected to much greater variation in yields than irrigated rice and that changing rainfall patterns affect mostly upland rice. We also provide evidence of the bias towards irrigated systems by looking at the patterns of varietal release.rice productivity, spatial convergence, technology spillover, China, Brazil

Impacts of recent climate change on crop yield can depend on local conditions in climatically diverse regions of Norway

Globally, climate change greatly impacts the production of major crops, and there have been many attempts to model future yields under warming scenarios in recent years. However, projections of future yields may not be generalisable to all crop growing regions, particularly those with diverse topography and bioclimates. In this study, we demonstrate this by evaluating the links between changes in temperature and precipitation and changes in wheat, barley, and potato yields at the county-level during 1980–2019 in Norway, a Nordic country with a range of climates across a relatively small spatial scale. The results show that the impacts of climate variables on yield vary widely by county, and that for some crops, the strength and direction of the link depends on underlying local bioclimate. In addition, our analysis demonstrates the need for some counties to focus on weather changes during specific crucial months corresponding with certain crop growth stages. Furthermore, due to the local climatic conditions and varying projected climate changes, different production opportunities are likely to occur in each county.publishedVersio

Productivity of various barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars under semi-arid conditions in southern Russia

ArticleDrought is a significant factor limiting crop production in arid conditions. In the dry climatic weather situation of southern Russia, ten - year laboratory trials and subsequent field experiments were laid out on various barley varieties collected across the globe during 2007 – 2017 period. This study was conducted to ascertain from the collection of barley cultivars of the entire world which one is best suited to stressful climatic conditions by being tolerant to drought, heat and salinity which can be adopted for barley breeding. According to the results obtained, the varieties that are tolerant to dry climatic conditions are as follows: Alga (Lithuania), Brenda, Henni (Germany), Décor (Great Britain), Furat 5 (Syria), Vakula (Ukraine), Ataman (Belarus) and Vladimir (Russia); heat resistant varieties are: Brenda (Germany), Alga (Lithuania), Furat 5 (Syria), Ataman (Belarus) , Vladimir and Ratnik (Russia); Salt - resistant varieties: Alga (Lithuania), Henni (Germany) and Vladimir (Russia). The selected varieties did not show any sign of adverse weather effect resulting in stable grain productivity throughout the entire duration of this research over the years, they had large grain size and stable 1 , 000 grains weight. However, the yield of selected cultivars varied over the years which was about 1.1 – 1.4 t ha - 1

Crop production in a northern climate

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MARS Bulletin Vol. 23 No 6 (2015) - Continued positive outlook at EU-28 level despite drought concern

Crop monitoring in EuropeJRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

Functional phenomics for improved climate resilience in Nordic agriculture

The five Nordic countries span the most northern region for field cultivation in the world. This presents challenges per se with short growing seasons, long days and a need for frost tolerance. Climate change has additionally increased risks for micro-droughts and water logging as well as pathogens and pests expanding northwards. Thus, Nordic agriculture demands crops that are adapted to the special Nordic growth conditions and future climate scenarios. A focus on crop varieties and traits important to Nordic agriculture, including the unique resource of nutritious wild crops, can meet these needs. In fact, with a future longer growing season due to climate change the region could contribute proportionally more to the global agricultural production. This also applies to other northern regions, including the Arctic. To address current growth conditions, mitigate impacts of climate change and meet market demands, the adaptive capacity of crops that both perform well in northern latitudes and are more climate resilient has to be increased, and better crop management systems be built. This requires functional phenomics approaches that integrate versatile high-throughput phenotyping, physiology and bioinformatics. This review stresses key target traits, the opportunities of latitudinal studies and infrastructure needs for phenotyping to support Nordic agriculture.Peer reviewe

Functional phenomics for improved climate resilience in Nordic agriculture

The five Nordic countries span the most northern region for field cultivation in the world. This presents challenges per se with short growing seasons, long days and a need for frost tolerance. Climate change has additionally increased risks for micro-droughts and water logging as well as pathogens and pests expanding northwards. Thus, Nordic agriculture demands crops that are adapted to the special Nordic growth conditions and future climate scenarios. A focus on crop varieties and traits important to Nordic agriculture, including the unique resource of nutritious wild crops, can meet these needs. In fact, with a future longer growing season due to climate change the region could contribute proportionally more to the global agricultural production. This also applies to other northern regions, including the Arctic. To address current growth conditions, mitigate impacts of climate change and meet market demands, the adaptive capacity of crops that both perform well in northern latitudes and are more climate resilient has to be increased, and better crop management systems be built. This requires functional phenomics approaches that integrate versatile high-throughput phenotyping, physiology and bioinformatics. This review stresses key target traits, the opportunities of latitudinal studies and infrastructure needs for phenotyping to support Nordic agriculture.Peer reviewe

Dynamic agricultural supply response under economic transformation

China has experienced dramatic economic transformation and is facing the challenge of ensuring steady agricultural growth. This study examines the crop sector by estimating the supply response for major crops in Henan province from 1998 to 2007. We use a Nerlovian adjustment adaptive expectation model. The estimation uses dynamic Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) panel estimation based on pooled data across 108 counties. We estimate acreage and yield response functions and derive the supply response elasticities. This research links supply response to exogenous factors (weather, irrigation, government policy, capital investment, and infrastructure) and endogenous factors (prices). The significant feature of the model specification used in the study is that it addresses the endogeneity problem by capturing different responses to own- and cross-prices. Empirical results illustrate that there is still great potential to increase crop production through improvement of investment priorities and proper government policy. We confirm that farmers respond to price by both reallocating land and more intensively applying non-land inputs to boost yield. Investment in rural infrastructure, human capacity, and technology are highlighted as major drivers for yield increase. Policy incentives such as taxes and subsidies prove to be effective in encouraging grain production.acreage and yield response, dynamic panel model, Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), supply elasticity,