Crop Yield and Water-Use Efficiency Responses to Climatic Variability in the U.S. Southern Great Plains.

Corn and wheat are two important irrigated crops in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. Although the crop yields and water use efficiency (WUE) increased in last four decades, yield and WUE still vary among different years even under irrigated conditions. As such, identifying the major climatic factors related to yield variability among years will help us to develop better management strategies under changing climatic conditions. The objective of this study is to investigate the responses of yield and WUE to climatic variability based on long-term field studies. We analyzed the yield and WUE data in irrigated corn and wheat research conducted at Bushland, TX since 1970s. The climatic factors we are investigating include solar radiation, rainfall, temperature, wind, humidity, and vapor pressure deficit. The relations among crop yield, WUE, and major climatic factors will be discussed in this study.