Yield Gaps in Wheat: Path to Enhancing Productivity
Wheat production is required to supply food for the world’s population, and increases in production will be necessary to feed the expanding population. Estimates show that production must increase by 1 billion metric tons to meet this demand. One method to meet future demand is to increase wheat yie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.01603/full |
| _version_ | 1819023861685944320 |
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| author | Jerry L. Hatfield Brian L. Beres |
| author_facet | Jerry L. Hatfield Brian L. Beres |
| author_sort | Jerry L. Hatfield |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wheat production is required to supply food for the world’s population, and increases in production will be necessary to feed the expanding population. Estimates show that production must increase by 1 billion metric tons to meet this demand. One method to meet future demand is to increase wheat yields by reducing the gap between actual and potential yields. Potential yields represent an optimum set of conditions, and a more realistic metric would be to compare actual yields with attainable yields, where these yields represent years in the record where there is no obvious limitation. This study was conducted to evaluate the yield trends, attainable yields, and yield gaps for the 10 largest wheat producing countries in the world and more localized yield statistics at the state or county level. These data were assembled from available government sources. Attainable yield was determined using an upper quantile analysis to define the upper frontier of yields over the period of record and yield gaps calculated as the difference between attainable yield and actual yield for each year and expressed as a percentage of the attainable yield. In all countries, attainable yield increase over time was larger than the yield trend indicating the technological advances in genetics and agronomic practices were increasing attainable yield. Yield gaps have not shown a decrease over time and reflect that weather during the growing season remains the primary limitation to production. Yield gap closure will require that local producers adopt practices that increase their climate resilience in wheat production systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:45:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-638f9131d97a4f03845ccc250356abd3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:45:37Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-638f9131d97a4f03845ccc250356abd32022-12-21T19:15:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2019-12-011010.3389/fpls.2019.01603481091Yield Gaps in Wheat: Path to Enhancing ProductivityJerry L. Hatfield0Brian L. Beres1National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, United StatesLethbridge Research and Development Centre, Lethbridge, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB, CanadaWheat production is required to supply food for the world’s population, and increases in production will be necessary to feed the expanding population. Estimates show that production must increase by 1 billion metric tons to meet this demand. One method to meet future demand is to increase wheat yields by reducing the gap between actual and potential yields. Potential yields represent an optimum set of conditions, and a more realistic metric would be to compare actual yields with attainable yields, where these yields represent years in the record where there is no obvious limitation. This study was conducted to evaluate the yield trends, attainable yields, and yield gaps for the 10 largest wheat producing countries in the world and more localized yield statistics at the state or county level. These data were assembled from available government sources. Attainable yield was determined using an upper quantile analysis to define the upper frontier of yields over the period of record and yield gaps calculated as the difference between attainable yield and actual yield for each year and expressed as a percentage of the attainable yield. In all countries, attainable yield increase over time was larger than the yield trend indicating the technological advances in genetics and agronomic practices were increasing attainable yield. Yield gaps have not shown a decrease over time and reflect that weather during the growing season remains the primary limitation to production. Yield gap closure will require that local producers adopt practices that increase their climate resilience in wheat production systems.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.01603/fullyieldwheat productionyield gapweathergap analyses |
| spellingShingle | Jerry L. Hatfield Brian L. Beres Yield Gaps in Wheat: Path to Enhancing Productivity Frontiers in Plant Science yield wheat production yield gap weather gap analyses |
| title | Yield Gaps in Wheat: Path to Enhancing Productivity |
| title_full | Yield Gaps in Wheat: Path to Enhancing Productivity |
| title_fullStr | Yield Gaps in Wheat: Path to Enhancing Productivity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Yield Gaps in Wheat: Path to Enhancing Productivity |
| title_short | Yield Gaps in Wheat: Path to Enhancing Productivity |
| title_sort | yield gaps in wheat path to enhancing productivity |
| topic | yield wheat production yield gap weather gap analyses |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.01603/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jerrylhatfield yieldgapsinwheatpathtoenhancingproductivity AT brianlberes yieldgapsinwheatpathtoenhancingproductivity |