Wheat production would be reduced by rising temperatures
Any producer will tell you, growing a healthy, high-yielding wheat crop takes skill and hard work. Quality drought-tolerant varieties that are resistant to pests and disease are important. And cooperation from Mother Nature in terms of temperature and precipitation doesn't hurt, either. To quantify the impact of genetic improvement in wheat, disease and
climate change over a 26-year period, a team of researchers at Kansas
State University examined wheat variety yield data from Kansas
performance tests, along with location-specific weather and disease
data. Simulations also found that a 1 degree Celsius increase (1.8 degrees
Fahrenheit) in projected mean temperature was found to decrease wheat
yields by 10.64 bushels per acre or nearly 21 percent. "Given weather trends in recent years, climate change is expected to increase temperatures, and this is likely to lower wheat yields in Kansas," Barkley said. Wheat field at sunset photo via Shutterstock. Read more at ScienceDaily. ©2013. Copyright Environmental News Network To subscribe or visit go to: http://www.enn.com |