Maize yields over Europe may increase in spite of climate change, with an appropriate use of the genetic variability of flowering time.

ABSTRACT: Projections based on invariant genotypes and agronomic practices indicate that climate change will largely decrease crop yields. The comparatively few studies considering farmers' adaptation result in a diversity of impacts depending on their assumptions. We combined experiments and process-based modeling for analyzing the consequences of climate change on European maize yields if farmers made the best use of the current genetic variability of cycle duration, based on practices they currently use. We first showed that the genetic variability of maize flowering time is sufficient for identifying a cycle duration that maximizes yield in a range of European climatic conditions. This was observed in six field experiments with a panel of 121 accessions and extended to 59 European sites over 36

SUBMITTER: Parent B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6196545 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature