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U.S. scientists found a way to increase crop yields by 20 percent

11.09.2021
U.S. scientists found a way to increase crop yields by 20 percent

American scientists conducted a fundamental study to find out how soil and landscape diversity affects crop yields, World of NAN reports citing Agroxxi.ru.

The scientists based their research on publicly available data, including U.S. Department of Agriculture CropScape data, daily weather data from the climate group PRISM, and soil and landscape properties from the Natural Commodity Crop Productivity Index. Researchers integrated the data into an analytical computer model of crops and yields for 3,100 U.S. counties, from 2008 to 2018.

The researchers then used the model to test the impact of landscape diversity and complexity on the yields of major U.S. food crops - corn, wheat and soybeans. The researchers took into account factors such as weather, soil quality, access to water and market price fluctuations.

The results showed that an increase in soil diversity was associated with an increase in corn and wheat yields of more than 10 percent - an effect similar to that of seasonal rainfall and soil fertility. And diverse landscape configurations were associated with increases in corn and wheat yields of more than 20%.

"It is well known that diverse landscapes are associated with healthier ecosystems, favorable for pollination, water retention and soil quality. Also, small field trials have shown that adding diversity in the form of hedgerows or flower strips has improved crop yields," said Emily Burchfield, associate professor of environmental sciences at Emory University and co-author of the study.

Now researchers are trying to figure out how best to apply landscape diversity on a regional scale.

"We plan to look at different regions of the U.S., the barriers and opportunities to diversification for each area. We hope that our work can provide data-driven evidence to help farmers intentionally diversify their landscapes, generate additional profits, while making production more resilient to climate change," said Emily Burchfield.


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