What is the number one determinant of a growing season’s outcome? Ask any farmer around the world and you will get a surprisingly consistent answer – the weather.
Each year, weather patterns can bring benefits or unexpected obstacles to farmers, and they must be ready to pivot to protect their yield potential and produce the nutritious food the world relies on.
The conversation around weather seems to have become increasingly important as changing climate patterns seem to be on the rise. Prolonged periods of extreme heat and drought, more intense storms, and new pest migrations due to changing temperature zones bring new challenges that farmers must contend with.
Farmers around the world have had to contend with prolonged, record-breaking hot and dry conditions in recent years. These extreme temperatures greatly impact farmers and lead to yield loss. In the United States, 75 percent of farmers reported seeing a reduction in harvest outcomes because of drought, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Across the Atlantic Ocean we see similar evidence of how crop heat stress is impacting farmers. For example, growers along the La Vinuela reservoir in the Spanish region of Andalucia are removing trees from their avocado orchards after prolonged heat waves and drought. Their hope is to help the remaining trees have access to enough water and nutrients by having less competition for these valuable resources.
The negative effects of heat stress on crops and harvest potential are universal because stressed plants cannot effectively utilize nutrients and properly grow. This is largely due to the impact heat has on Cytokinin, an important hormone for plant development and is highly sensitive to high temperatures. In small grain crops such as corn, cytokinin begins breaking down at only 67°F (19.4°C) and at 87°F (30.5°C) in other crops.
Cytokinin breakdown due to extended periods of extreme is one of many ways crop heat stress is reducing the amount of end-of-year yield from yield potential, also known as the yield gap. Farmers must work to understand the agronomic elements impacting their crops during key parts of their growing seasons to protect their bottom line.
The probability of more weather extremes and changing climate patterns remains high, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Stated studies indicate extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are likely to become more frequent and more intense.
By understanding how heat stress can impact yield outcomes, farmers can proactively get ahead of these changing weather patterns and adopt new technologies to help boost the resiliency of their crops. Incorporating biologicals tools can help support crop health and improve overall nutrient and water use efficiency.
Want to learn more about how to help crops build resilience to heat stress? Contact one of our innovation experts near you or learn more [here].
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