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The paper purpose was to assess the impact of climate change on wheat, maize and sunflower yield in the period 2017-2021, using statistical data from National Institute of Statistics (NIS) and National Administration of Meteorology (NAM) and other sources. Comparison method was used to evaluate the deviations between the registered air temperatures and precipitations and the 1981-2010 climatological norm. Graphic method reflected the dynamics of monthly air temperatures and rainfalls in each year. Descriptive statistics for mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation reflected an more comprehensive image upon air temperature, precipitations and yield. Correlations and regression equations were used to establish the intensity of the kinks between climate factors and yield. The highest average air temperature In Romania was 12.130C in 2019. In the period 2017-2020, the average annual temperatures exceeded the climatological norm 1981-2010 accounting for 9.10C. The lowest rainfalls, 614.2 mm, were recorded in 2019, being below of 633.1 mm the norm for the period 1981-2010. The high temperatures associated with drought and low precipitations have deeply affected yield of many agricultural crops, including maize, wheat and sunflower. The highest wheat yield 4,888 kg/ha was achieved in 2017, and the lowest one, 2,966 kg/ha in 2020. Maize registered the highest performance of 7,644 kg/ha in 2018, and the lowest one, 3,977 kg/ha in 2020. Sunflower carried out the high performance 3,041 kg/ha in 2018, and the lowest one, 1,858 kg/ha in 2020. The worst agricultural years for these three crops was 2020, but 2017 favored wheat, while 2018 favored maize and sunflower. The correlation coefficient had in general small values between average temperature and yield, but a higher link with precipitations level. The multiple correlation between yield, air temperatures and precipitations was: r= 0.817 for wheat, r = 0.116 for maize and r = 0.504 for sunflower. In the South Eastern Dobrogea, the driest area in Romania, the rainfalls declined by 65% in the period 2018-2020 having a deep negative impact on sunflower seeds yield, which decreased from 4,282 kg/ha in 2018, to 1,503 kg/ha in 2020. The correlation between precipitations and sunflower yield positive and very strong (r = 0.737). As a conclusion, the climate conditions should be analyzed in each farm and farmers have to take measure to adapt the technologies for sustaining production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the prospects of Ukraine on the world grain market and ways to increase the efficiency of maize cultivation using environmentally safe technologies in the conditions of the negative impact of climate change and other stress factors. The methodological approach takes into account the peculiarities of agrarian production based on the use of data of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, United States Department of Agriculture, United Nations, Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and State Statistics Service of Ukraine. The dynamics of world production and export of maize grain, sown areas, production and yield of maize in Ukraine are demonstrated, which directly focuses attention on the competitiveness of Ukrainian maize on the world grain market. These arguments are confirmed by analytical results, which show that in 2022, among the world leaders of maize grain producers, Ukraine took fifth place, and among exporters - fourth. In order to mitigate the impact of climate change and other stress factors on the effective production and export of Ukrainian maize, adaptation measures are proposed, which consist in the application of modern technologies, which include: optimization of the structure of sown areas and scientifically based crop rotations with the effective use of competitive varieties and hybrids of agricultural crops, the introduction of organic and mineral fertilizers and plant protection products, the use of soil protective tillage, sideration and mulching, irrigation systems, and also the productive use of plant residues with the application of modern biodestructors. Their comprehensive implementation will contribute to the development of maize yield, grain quality, preservation of biodiversity and the solution of the grain-food problem in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural practices of smallholder farming systems of Latin America can play an important role in reducing their exposure to the risks associated with climate extremes. To date, however, there is no systematic analysis of scientific evidence for the extent to which these practices can provide the multiple benefits needed for smallholders to adapt to climate extremes. In this paper, we searched scientific databases to review scientific evidence of the benefit provided by twenty-six practices in crops commonly farmed by smallholders in the region and highly relevant for their food and nutrition security; namely, coffee, maize and beans. We reviewed scientific documents (n = 304) published in the period 1953–2021 to register evidence of the practices' effects on fifty-five benefits. Our analysis of these documents found measurement records (n = 924) largely based on field experiments (85%). Our results show strong evidence of the multiple benefits that some ecosystem-based practices (e.g., tree-based practices for coffee and no tillage for maize) can provide to support the adaptation to climate extremes of smallholder farming systems and enhance a farm's natural assets (e.g., biodiversity, water, soil). We also found that the majority of research on practices in the region focused more on the socioeconomic dimension (54%) rather than on the capacity of practices to improve the natural assets of a smallholder farmers or reduce the impact of climate extremes. Given these knowledge gaps, we discuss the importance of a renovated investment in research to address existing knowledge gaps. Our concluding suggestions for future research include the need for systematizing existing knowledge from different sources (e.g., peer-reviewed, gray literature, farmers, extension agencies, etc.), and to assess the extent to which these practices can provide multiple benefits for smallholder farming systems by improving their wellbeing, reducing their vulnerability to different hydroclimatic extremes while also contributing to ecosystem services provision at the landscape level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study aims to assess the impact of climate change on productivity of maize in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan over a period of thirty years from 1986 to 2015. According to the ecological landscape, KP is divided into three climatic regions; the northern climatic region, the central climatic region, and the southern climatic region. The study uses Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model for maize crop in KP. This study reveals that the impacts of climatic variables are increasing from the southern climatic region to the northern climatic region. The study also reveals that any negative shock to the crops productivity can be overcome by increasing the area under maize cultivation. It is concluded that the variations in climatic variables have significant effects on maize productivity in the short-run as well as in the long-run in all the climatic regions of KP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various models and datasets related to aflatoxins in the maize and dairy production chain have been developed and used but they have not yet been linked with each other. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of climate change on aflatoxin B1 production in maize and its consequences on aflatoxin M1 contamination in dairy cow’s milk, using a full chain modelling approach. To this end, available models and input data were chained together in a modelling framework. As a case study, we focused on maize grown in Eastern Europe and imported to the Netherlands to be fed–as part of dairy cows’ compound feed–to dairy cows in the Netherlands. Three different climate models, one aflatoxin B1 prediction model and five different carryover models were used. For this particular case study of East European maize, most of the calculations suggest an increase (up to 50%) of maximum mean aflatoxin M1 in milk by 2030, except for one climate (DMI) model suggesting a decrease. Results from all combinations of carryover and climate models suggest a similar or slight increase (up to 0.6%) of the chance of finding aflatoxin M1 in milk above the EC limit of 0.05 μg/kg by 2030. Results varied mainly with the climate model data and carryover model considered. The model framework infrastructure is flexible so that forecasting models for other mycotoxins or other food safety hazards as well as other production chains, together with necessary input databases, can easily be included as well. This modelling framework for the first time links datasets and models related to aflatoxin B1 in maize and related aflatoxin M1 the dairy production chain to obtain a unique predictive methodology based on Monte Carlo simulation. Such an integrated approach with scenario analysis provides possibilities for policy makers and risk managers to study the effects of changes in the beginning of the chain on the end product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition or facilitation characterises intra- and interspecific interactions within communities of species that utilize the same resources. Temperature is an important factor influencing those interactions and eventual outcomes. The noctuid stemborers, Busseola fusca and Sesamia calamistis and the crambid Chilo partellus attack maize in sub-Saharan Africa. They often occur as a community of interacting species in the same field and plant at all elevations. The influence of temperature on the intra- and interspecific interactions among larvae of these species, was studied using potted maize plants exposed to varying temperatures in a greenhouse and artificial stems kept at different constant temperatures (15°C, 20°C, 25°C and 30°C) in an incubator. The experiments involved single- and multi-species infestation treatments. Survival and relative growth rates of each species were assessed. Both intra- and interspecific competitions were observed among all three species. Interspecific competition was stronger between the noctuids and the crambid than between the two noctuids. Temperature affected both survival and relative growth rates of the three species. Particularly at high temperatures, C. partellus was superior in interspecific interactions shown by higher larval survival and relative growth rates. In contrast, low temperatures favoured survival of B. fusca and S. calamistis but affected the relative growth rates of all three species. Survival and relative growth rates of B. fusca and S. calamistis in interspecific interactions did not differ significantly across temperatures. Temperature increase caused by future climate change is likely to confer an advantage on C. partellus over the noctuids in the utilization of resources (crops). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress causes heavy damages to crop growth and productivity under global climatic changes. Transcription factors have been extensively studied in many crops to play important roles in plant growth and defense. However, there is a scarcity of studies regarding WRKY transcription factors regulating drought responses in maize crops. Previously, ZmWRKY79 was identified as the regulator of maize phytoalexin biosynthesis with inducible expression under different elicitation. Here, we elucidated the function of ZmWRKY79 in drought stress through regulating ABA biosynthesis. The overexpression of ZmWRKY79 in Arabidopsis improved the survival rate under drought stress, which was accompanied by more lateral roots, lower stomatal aperture, and water loss. ROS scavenging was also boosted by ZmWRKY79 to result in less H2O2 and MDA accumulation and increased antioxidant enzyme activities. Further analysis detected more ABA production in ZmWRKY79 overexpression lines under drought stress, which was consistent with up-regulated ABA biosynthetic gene expression by RNA-seq analysis. ZmWRKY79 was observed to target ZmAAO3 genes in maize protoplast through acting on the specific W-boxes of the corresponding gene promoters. Virus-induced gene silencing of ZmWRKY79 in maize resulted in compromised drought tolerance with more H2O2 accumulation and weaker root system architecture. Together, this study substantiates the role of ZmWRKY79 in the drought-tolerance mechanism through regulating ABA biosynthesis, suggesting its broad functions not only as the regulator in phytoalexin biosynthesis against pathogen infection but also playing the positive role in abiotic stress response, which provides a WRKY candidate gene to improve drought tolerance for maize and other crop plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize is known to be susceptible to drought stress, which negatively affects vegetative growth and biomass production, as well as the formation of reproductive organs and yield parameters. In this study, 27 responsive traits of germination (G) and seedlings growth were evaluated for 40 accessions of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) germplasm collection, under no stress and simulated drought stress treatments by 10%, 15%, and 20% of polyethylene glycol (PEG). The three treatments significantly reduced G% and retarded seedlings growth, particularly the 15% and 20% PEG treatments; these two treatments also resulted in a significant increase of abnormal seedlings (AS). The heritability (H2) and correlations of the traits were estimated, and drought tolerance indices (DTIs) were calculated for traits and accessions. The H2 of G% values were reduced, and H2 for AS% increased as the PEG stress increased. Positive correlations were found between most trait pairs, particularly shoot and root traits, with 48 highly significant correlations under no stress and 25 highly significant correlations under the 10% PEG treatments, particularly for shoot and root traits. The medium to high heritability of shoot and root seedling traits provides a sound basis for further genetic analyses. PCA analysis clearly grouped accessions with high DTIs together and the accessions with low DTIs together, indicating that the DTI indicates the stress tolerance level of maize germplasm. However, the resemblance in DTI values does not clearly reflect the origin or taxonomic assignments to subspecies and varieties of the examined accessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]