Closing the Wheat Yield Gap: Case Study in Middle and Low Reaches of the Yangtze River.

Abstract

Increasing crop yield has attracted increasing attentions to match with the inflating. The areas of middle and low reaches of theYangtze River is one of the major wheat production zone in China. Though with plenty water and thermal resources, wheat yields in this area fluctuate largely across years and are lower than the average level of other production zone in China. We calculate the actual farm yield and analyze the limiting factors for wheat yield variations by conducting detailed surveys from farmers in Jiangsu, Anhui, Sichuan, Hubei provinces, which cover the major areas in middle and low reaches of the Yangtze River.. Meanwhile, we conduct experiments using the best wheat variety and the best crop managements to achieve the actual yield-potential for further analysis the factors affecting the yield gap among the average farm yield, good farm yield and experimental station yield. We also determine the morphological and physiological traits in both single plant and population level to explain the yield gap.