Long-term variations in seasonal weather conditions important to corn production in Illinois.

Abstract

An analysis of long-term records ofcorn yields and seasonal weather conditions inIllinois found major temporal shifts and importantspatial variations in the types of seasonal weatherconditions, expressed as the normality of temperatureand rainfall conditions, that create positive andnegative impacts on yields. Nineteen different typesof corn-weather seasons (May–August) occurred during1901–1997, and 9 of these seasons accounted for mostof the high corn yields (top 20 of the 97) and 8seasonal types produced most low yields (lowest 20values). Assessment of the years with either high orlow yields revealed (1) some corn-weather seasonaltypes were uniformly distributed throughout thecentury; (2) others were unevenly time distributed,some occurring only in early decades and others onlyin the last few decades; and (3) certain weather typesvaried regionally. The yield responses to certainseasonal types varied over time, being good early andnot so later, or vice versa. The findings indicatethat time changes in farming practices, cornvarieties, and agricultural technology have alteredhow certain types of growing season weather affectcorn yields. Regional differences in yield outcomesfrom a given set of weather conditions reflect varyingsoil and climate differences across Illinois. Thespatial and temporal differences reveal the importanceof using weather-impact results to define seasonalweather extremes. The kinds of seasons creating highyields predominated during 1901–1910 and 1961–1997,and most seasons creating low yields were concentratedbetween 1911 and 1960. Comparison of the 1901–1997temporal distributions of yield extremes (high andlow) with the temporal distributions of cyclonepassages and the incidence of ENSO conditions thataffect growing season weather conditions revealed agenerally good relationship. The shifting temporalresponses to various kinds of seasonal weatherconditions during the 20th century reveal some ofthe difficulties facing efforts to project realisticand detailed impacts in agriculture from alteredfuture seasonal weather conditions.