WASHINGTON, May 2 (AFP): US farmers can grow more corn than ever before thanks to genetic modifications and improved planting techniques, but the crops are also increasingly vulnerable to drought, researchers said yesterday.
The study in the journal Science found that "densely planted corn appears to be unexpectedly more sensitive to water scarcity," raising concerns about future food supply as the planet warms.
The United States is the largest exporter of corn in the world, shipping about 40 per cent of the world's corn.
In recent years, most commercially produced corn has been modified with new traits that make roots better able to access water and build in pest resistance. That has allowed farmers to plant more corn and set the plants more closely together than they could in the past, resulting in higher yields.
But the plants have also become more susceptible to dry spells over the past two decades, which is a concern because most corn crops in the United States rely on natural rain, not irrigation.
If predictions for future climate in the midwestern US- known as the Corn Belt-are correct, then corn yields could fall 15 to 30 per cent over the next half century, scientists said.
Corn crops increasingly vulnerable to hot, dry weather
FE Team | Published: May 03, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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