Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 17.1
Wheat grain yields by decade of the 15 highest wheat producing countries according to 2001-2007
production.
Annual Gain
1961-2007
Annual Production
2001-2007
1961-1970
1971-1980
1981-1990
1991-2000
2001-2007
-----------------
Grain Yield (kg ha
−1
)
-----------------
1,000,000 Mg
China
940
1,620
2,850
3,610
4,190
88.2
96.3
India
940
1,380
1,920
2,500
2,670
47.8
70.5
US
1,810
2,130
2,450
2,620
2,710
24.3
54.2
Russia
a
1,610
1,960
28.1
45.6
France
3,170
4,440
5,780
6,850
6,840
104.3
35.2
Canada
1,510
1,790
1,890
2,290
2,340
23.0
22.3
Germany
3,540
4,450
5,710
6,960
7,320
105.3
22.3
Pakistan
910
1,330
1,680
2,070
2,460
39.7
20.3
Turkey
1,140
1,610
1,940
2,040
2,170
26.7
19.7
Australia
1,210
1,260
1,440
1,790
1,510
12.9
18.8
Ukraine
a
2,780
2,610
−
52.0
15.6
UK
3,990
4,740
6,540
7,560
7,710
107.8
14.3
Argentina
1,370
1,560
1,850
2,280
2,450
29.3
14.2
Iran
780
930
1,080
1,610
2,110
33.0
13.4
Kazakhstan
a
870
1,070
17.5
12.6
World
1,300
1,720
2,220
2,600
2,780
40.4
598.3
Decade means, annual gain (from linear regression analysis of yield against year), and annual production were calculated
from FAOSTAT online data (http://faostat.fao.org/).
a
Data not available before 1992.
Although strong annual variation has occurred
within countries, the trend of increasing wheat
grain yields is clear.
9,000
8,000
7,000
UK
UK
China
US
India
6,000
5,000
4,000
GENETIC COMPONENT OF GRAIN
YIELD IMPROVEMENT
Australia
WORLD
3,000
2,000
1,000
The two most frequently cited factors contribut-
ing to the increase in grain yield are improved
cultivars and N fertilizer application (Bell et al.,
1995; Austin 1999; Chloupek et al., 2004).
Chloupek et al. (2004) showed the yield increase
of wheat in Germany was 114 kg ha
−1
yr
−1
over the
40-year period from 1960 to 2000, and that N
fertilizer use (and other inputs) accounted for
27% of that gain.
Bell et al. (1995) estimated that wheat yield
gains in the Yaqui Valley of northwest Mexico
from 1968 to 1990 were mainly attributed to
improved cultivars (28%) and N fertilizer (48%).
Recent studies from the International Maize and
Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) indi-
0
Fig. 17.1
Wheat grain yields from 1961 to 2007. The UK
currently has the highest grain yields in the world. China,
India, and the US represent the top three countries for wheat
production. Australia is one of the top 10 countries for pro-
duction, yet with low yields. Data assembled from FAOSTAT
online resources (http://faostat.fao.org/).
yield gains in the 1980s and 1990s (Table 17.1 and
Fig. 17.1). Yield in the Ukraine is currently less
for this decade than it was in the 1990s. Figure
17.1 illustrates the annual yields of China, India,
the US, Germany, Australia, and the entire world.
