Quantitative design and production methods for sustainably increasing maize grain yield and resource use efficiency
2025
Huaxiang JI | Guangzhou LIU | Wanmao LIU | Yunshan YANG | Xiaoxia GUO | Guoqiang ZHANG | Zhiqiang TAO | Shaokun LI | Peng HOU
Due to continuous increases in the global population and the limited availability of arable land resources, issues related to food security have attracted increasing attention. Maize is the most productive and most widely planted food crop in China and has the highest yield potential among different crops. Increasing the yield of maize per unit area has become one of the key goals in agriculture in China. This study summarized the key limiting factors, such as solar radiation, temperature, water, soil resources and extreme weather events that currently limit the yield and resource use efficiency of maize production, as well as the main problems existing in the process of maize production, such as unsuitable cultivar selection, low planting density and inappropriate fertilizer application. Then the maize population was optimized on the basis of quantitative design principles. By this approach, crop planting density was matched with solar radiation levels, the population structure was matched with appropriate cultivars, and the plow layer-root system-canopy functions were matched with grain yield to ensure increases in grain yield and resource use efficiency in maize production. These factors can significantly improve maize production and related economic benefits, reduce production costs and environmental burdens, and provide a scientific basis and technical support for realizing sustainable agricultural development in China.
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