Maximum Production Capacity of Food Crops

Abstract

The 2% per year worldwide population increases along with the increasing incomes and affluence of many countries are a stress on existent food producing systems. Now for the 1st time in history there are hungry nations with money who are bargaining for available food and feed grains. Developing countries with rising populations are living ever closer to the food margin. The following are among the questions addressed in this report: 1) how wide is the gap between what is being done in food production and that which is possible; 2) can the spread between average yield of crops top yields and record high yields be reduced; 3) what are the biological limits in crop production; 4) if all the available technology were assembled crop by crop what can be accomplished; 5) can the calamities of the present and future e.g. drought plant disease epidemics be met; and 6) are there still new frontiers and unexplored dimensions for crop productivity that could result in substantial breakthroughs in the now prevailing yield barriers. A major limitation to the attainment of optimal yields in corn sugar beets sorghum soybeans and many other crops in temperate zones is the length of time necessary from planting until the leaf canopy covers the ground. There is an ineffective utilization of solar energy when it is at a maximum. Early plantings equidistant plantings high plant populations narrow rows and the selection of varieties having plant and leaf types for maximum light reception will greatly enhance photosynthetic capabilities. Trickel irrigation the 1st major breakthrough in irrigation in the last 40 years offers a new and exciting innovation in water use for crop production. Total pest management is evolving in food production systems. There have recently been remarkable increases in worldwide acreage under protected cultivation. This makes it possible to grow around the calendar prolong the growing season and extend the areas of productivity in the temperate zone.