Natural Resources, School of
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
3-31-2024
Citation
Sarzaeim, P.; Muñoz-Arriola, F. A Method to Estimate Climate Drivers of Maize Yield Predictability Leveraging Genetic-by-Environment Interactions in the US and Canada. Agronomy 2024, 14, 733. https:// doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14040733
Abstract
Throughout history, the pursuit of diagnosing and predicting crop yields has evidenced genetics, environment, and management practices intertwined in achieving food security. However, the sensitivity of crop phenotypes and genetic responses to climate still hampers the identification of the underlying abilities of plants to adapt to climate change. We hypothesize that the PiAnosi and WagNer (PAWN) global sensitivity analysis (GSA) coupled with a genetic by environment (GxE) model built of environmental covariance and genetic markers structures, can evidence the contributions of climate on the predictability of maize yields in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada. The GSA-GxE framework estimates the relative contribution of climate variables to improving maize yield predictions. Using an enhanced version of the Genomes to Fields initiative database, the GSA-GxE framework shows that the spatially aggregated sensitivity of maize yield predictability is attributed to solar radiation, followed by temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity. In one-third of the individually assessed locations, rainfall was the primary responsible for maize yield predictability. Also, a consistent pattern of top sensitivities (Relative Humidity, Solar Radiation, and Temperature) as the main or the second most relevant drivers of maize yield predictability shed some light on the drivers of genetic improvement in response to climate change.
Included in
Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons
Comments
Open access.