Production and Cultivated Area Variation in Cereal, Rice, Wheat and Maize in China (1998–2016)

Wang Wang,Zhao Zhao,Gao Gao,Zhang Zhang

doi:10.3390/agronomy9050222

Wang Wang, Zhao Zhao + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9050222

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Journal: Agronomy	Publication Date: Apr 30, 2019
Citations: 21	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: North West Agriculture and Forestry University

Abstract

The production of cereals, including rice, wheat, and maize has increased in China over the past 20 years. However, variations in the production and cultivated area of cereals remains unclear. In this study, we collected and analyzed the cereal production and cultivated area in China from 1998 to 2016. An 85% increase in cereal production was recorded from 1998 to 2016, due to an increase in the maize production along with the increase in the cultivated area. Meanwhile, rice and wheat production have been stable since 2000. No change occurred in the rice cultivated area through 2016, and a 19% decrease in the wheat cultivated area was observed in 2016 relative to 1998. In addition, a significant positive relationship was observed among cereal production, maize production, and cultivated area (p < 0.0001). Together, the increase in cereal production in China over the past two decades has resulted from the increase in maize cultivated area and the consequent increase in maize production.

Highlights

IntroductionRice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and maize (Zea mays L.) production in 2013 increased to 746, 713, and 1016 million tons, respectively, which contributed to more than 89% of the global cereal production [2]
Cereals grains have nourished humanity for thousands of years [1]
We evaluated the spatial-temporal variation in production and the cultivated area of cereal, rice, wheat, and maize in China

Summary

Introduction

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and maize (Zea mays L.) production in 2013 increased to 746, 713, and 1016 million tons, respectively, which contributed to more than 89% of the global cereal production [2]. These cereal crops are still the most important source of calories for most of the human population today. The gross crop production in a region is determined by the production of each crop. In China, cereal production is determined primarily by rice, wheat, and maize production. The per hectare yield and cultivated area are the two main factors affecting crop production under limited farmland, and any changes in the cultivated area or productivity could influence the total production [4,5]

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