How did the yield of cereals increase over time?
Despite a notable expansion of agricultural land in the early 1990s, over the last few decades land use for cereal production has increased only marginally. Most of our improvements in cereal production have arisen from improvements in yield. The average cereal yield has increased by 175 percent since 1961.
What are the reasons for the increase in corn yields?
There are a number of factors which are likely to have contributed to sustained yield gains: fertilizer application, irrigation, increased soil tillage, and improved farming practices. However, a key driver in the initial rise in yield is considered to be the adoption of improved corn varieties from plant breeding developments.
How does increasing crop yields affect land area?
Increasing yields reduces the pressure of expanding agricultural land. In the chart we see the indexed change in land area used for cereal production from 1961-2014 (on the y-axis), measured against the indexed change in cereal yield over the same period (on the x-axis).
What was the average yield of potato in 1960?
Potato yields have also almost doubled, increasing from just over 20 tonnes in 1960 to more than 40 tonnes per hectare in 2014. In the chart we have plotted average corn (maize) yields in the United States from 1866-2014, based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and UN FAO.
Where did the expansion of wheat production occur?
Great expansion of wheat production occurred as new arable land was farmed in the Americas and Australia in the 19th and 20th centuries. A combine harvester threshes the wheat, crushes the chaff, then blows chaff across the field.
How many plants in an acre of wheat?
In general, an initial stand of 30 to 32 plants/ft2, which is about 1.3 to 1.4 million plants/acre, maximizes yield potential. Yield components of wheat: