Short-stature maize reduced wind damage during the 2020 midwestern derecho, improving yields and greenhouse gas outcomes

Future agricultural systems will need to become more resilient as climate change impacts increase. One expected outcome of climate change is an increase in severe thunderstorms with high velocity straight line winds. In August 2020, a derecho, a cluster of thunderstorms generating high-speed prolonged-duration straight line winds, swept through Iowa and Illinois in the north central U.S. Corn Belt. Damage estimates from the derecho range up to US$11.2 billion, with significant impacts to crops, stored grain, and property throughout its path. Fourteen field locations of short-statured maize research hybrids were growing within the path of the derecho, where data was collected on their lodging damage resistance compared with isogenic and near isogenic tall counterparts. For short-stature maize, an average of 25% of plants were damaged, compared with 50% for isogenic tall hybrids (across all locations; p = .0009). This decreased lodging damage was associated with a mean estimated yield advantage of 1.57 t ha(-1) for short-stature maize across the breadth of the storm (p = .0011). Economic and environmental models indicated that planting short-stature maize hybrid across the storm area could have prevented the loss of approximately $938 million in revenue and 1.48 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents.

Automated summary

As climate change impacts increase, future agricultural systems need to be more resilient. Severe thunderstorms with high velocity straight line winds are expected to become more frequent. A study found that short-stature maize hybrids had less lodging damage compared to tall hybrids, resulting in higher yields and preventing significant economic and environmental losses.