Agricultural Meteorology, 24 (1981) 253--262 253

Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

CORN YIELD IN RELATION TO PHOTOPERIOD,

NIGHT TEMPERATURE, AND SOLAR RADIATION

JEN-HU CHANG
Department of Geography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 (U.S.A.)
(Requ le 27 Octobre, 1980; r6vision accept6 le 9 f6vri6r, 1981)

ABSTRACT
Chang, Jen-hu, 1981. Corn yield in relation to photoperiod, night temperature and solar
radiation. Agric. Meteorol., 24: 253--262.
The average corn yield in high latitudes exceeds that in the tropics by 4 times in the
field and by 2.5 times in experimental plots. This difference between 4 and 2.5 largely
reflects the technological inferiority of tropical farming. The difference in experimental
yield is largely caused by climatic factors. Hybrid corns are adapted to long days in excess
of 14 h 30 min. Long day length also promotes photosynthesis for all corn varieties. High
night temperature reduces the corn yield in the tropics by some 30%. Solar radiation is
a minor factor in explaining the yield difference on a global scale.

INTRODUCTION

Baier (1979) has distinguished three types of studies dealing with the
relationship between crop yields and weather conditions: (1)mechanistic
type crop growth simulation models; (2)statistically-based weather analysis
models, and (3) multiple regression models. The selection of the appropriate
approach depends upon the available data, purpose of investigation, and
time-scale as well as the size and nature of the area concerned.
In crop--weather simulation studies, complex physical, chemical, and
physiological processes based on both laboratory and field experiments are
mathematically presented. Rates of photosynthesis, respiration, and tran-
spiration are calculated to estimate biomass production. Studies by Stewart
(1970), Curry (1971), Curry and Chen (1971), Splinter (1974), and Runge
and Benci (1975) provide good examples. However, research in recent years
has shown that photosynthetic rates may not be closely related to economic
yields. Phenological events, particularly the duration of the ripening period,
are important in determining the yields of grain crops.
Crop--weather analysis models attempt to correlate short-term (daily or
weekly) meteorological events with crop growth and yield. Conventional
statistical techniques are often used to evaluate the weighting coefficients
in the yield equation. Typical examples include studies by Denmead and
Shaw (1960), Dale and Shaw (1965) and the NOAA report (1979). How-
ever, all these studies consider only soil moisture. Thermal and radiative
parameters are ignored presumably because they were not too variable dur-
ing their respective growing seasons.

0002-1571/81/0000--0000/$02.50 © 1981 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company

254

In multiple regression models, weather variables are statistically related to

crop yields. Thompson's investigation (1969) of the yield fluctuations in the
Corn Belt in the U.S.A. as a function of temperature, rainfall, and techno-
logical change is a well-known example. Studies by Huda et al. (1976) and
Taylor and Bailey (1979) also fall into this category. In this paper I adopt a
multiple regression approach to investigate the relationship between climate
and corn yields for nearly all the corn-producing countries in the world.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE OF CORN TO CLIMATE

The success of the multiple regression approach depends in part upon the
selection of cardinal climatic elements. Therefore, the physiological responses
of corn to various climatic elements are briefly discussed.
The major climatic factors that affect the growth and development of a
crop may be grouped into two headings: (1) water balance and (2) thermal
and radiative regimes. The latter includes day length, temperature, and solar
radiation.
The water balance of a place is determined by evapotranspiration, rainfall,
and soil characteristics. Water deficits reduce crop yields. For many grain
crops there is a definite moisture-sensitive period during which a relatively
small water deficit may greatly reduce the yield. Denmead and Shaw (1960)
and Dale and Shaw (1965) have shown that for the corn crop, the period
from six weeks before silking to three weeks after silking is most critical.
Gooding (1972) has emphasized that hybrid corns are bred for long-day
conditions and that when they are brought to lower latitudes they mature
more rapidly, produce fewer nodes and do not attain their normal plant
heights (Francis et al., 1970). Consequently, hybrids produce much lower
yields in the tropics, even though they may still outyield native varieties,
partly because hybrids have a faster rate of grain filling than inbreds (John-
son and Tanner, 1972). Conversely, tropical varieties, when grown in high
latitudes, extend their period of vegetative growth and seldom is anthesis
early enough to set seed in the field.
For the same daily solar radiation intensity, photosynthetic rates increase
with day length. Theoretical calculation by Monteith (1965) suggests that at
a daffy radiation of 400 langleys, photosynthetic rates increase by 15% when
photoperiod increases from 12 to 16 h. Experiments for rice crops carried
out in Southeast Asia (van Ittersum, 1972) and in the Llanos Orientales of
Colombia (Leihner and Cock, 1977) indicate an even greater yield difference
than that calculated by Monteith. Similar effects could be expected of corn.
Temperature affects photosynthesis, respiration, and translocation, as well
as crop development, particularly the duration of grain-filling period. Both
photosynthesis and development are greatly retarded at a temperature of
10°C or lower (Duncan and Hesketh, 1968). However, such low tempera-
tures are rarely observed in normal years in most corn-growing areas.
High temperatures promote respiration. The average respiration loss is
about 25% of the photosynthetic rate in the temperate zone as against 35%
in the tropics.
 255

However, the most important effect of temperature is that high tempera-

ture, particularly at night, shortens the ripening period thus greatly reducing
the yield (Wilson et al., 1973). The optimum temperature for plant growth
and development is not the same as the optimum for high grain yields
(Brown, 1977). This has been explained by Duncan (1975} "Photosynthesis
is governed by leaf temperatures during daylight hours only, whereas devel-
o p m e n t rate is a function of temperature over the whole day. The environ-
ments with lower but similar day temperatures speed development, decreas-
ing both the number of days of photosynthesis between development events
and plant dry weight."
In a controlled experiment in Illinois, Peters et al. (1971) constructed a
house that could be placed over the plot area at night to control tempera-
ture. The plot with a night temperature of 18.3°C produced a corn yield
40% higher than the plot with a night temperature of 29.4 ° C.
It is likely that this difference in yield is partly caused by the temperature
effect on translocation. According to Evans (1975), "In maize plants grown
at low latitudes, up to 40% of stem weight may be sucrose not called on for
storage in the grain. At higher latitudes these reserves may be fully mobil-
ized."
As a Ca plant, corn leaves are not light saturated even at a very high radia-
tion intensity. In general, the number of ears per plant increases with solar
radiation. Most studies have shown that in the absence of other limiting
factors a nearly linear relationship exists between solar radiation and corn
yield (Searsbrook and Doss, 1973). Grain yield may be increased by the
addition of reflected light from below (Pendleton et al., 1966) or decreased
by shading (Prine and Schroder, 1964). Even the removal of tassel that casts
a shadow on the corn plant may increase grain yield by 4 to 12% depending
upon the population density (Duncan et al., 1967). However, recent studies
have shown that the effect of radiation on corn yield is not uniform through-
out its life cycle. Solar radiation during the third m o n t h of the plant's
growth, corresponding to the grain filling period, is far more important than
during any other period (Lee, 1978).
In summary, the four most important climatic parameters that affect corn
yields are moisture supply during the reproductive and early grain-filling
period, photoperiod, night temperature, and solar radiation during the grain-
filling period.

METHOD OF ANALYSIS

Corn yields are taken from the FAO Production Yearbooks for the years
1975 to 1977. Only those countries which had more than 10,000ha of corn
axe included. The three-year average yields of 98 countries are used in this
analysis.
Only temperature, day length and solar radiation are considered. Soil
moisture is not studied for two reasons. First, a cursory examination of the
monthly climatic data indicates that in nearly all corn growing regions mean
256

rainfall during the reproductive and early ripening period exceeds 75% of the
potential evapotranspiration. Accurate determination of water deficits re-
quires daffy rainfall data which are not readily available. In irrigated areas
water balance computation is even more complicated. Second, since one of
the major objectives of this study is to explain yield differences between
high and low latitudes, it may be assumed that in most latitudinal belts there
is a mixture of relatively dry and moist areas.
For each country the center of the corn growing area is determined and
the average date of planting and harvest ascertained. Representative stations
are then selected to estimate (1) mean night temperature during the growing
season, (2) average day length during the growing season, and (3) solar radia-
tion during the third month of the plant's growth. In the statistical analysis
all countries are treated as equal regardless of the sizes of their crop areas.

RESULTS

In Fig. 1 actual field corn yields of all countries are plotted as a function
of latitude. Data for each 10 ° of latitudinal belts including both the North-
ern and Southern Hemispheres are summarized in Table I. In the tropics the
average corn yield is only about 1 , 0 0 0 k g h a -1. In contrast, corn yields in
high latitude poleward of 35 ° of latitude average more than 4 times higher
than in the tropics. The latitudinal belt between 25 and 35 ° with an average
yield of 1,788 kg ha -1 may be considered a transitional zone.
I
New Zealand

7.000

Auslna
Swllz e d a n{:l
Iialy

Canac~a
USA
ub Germany

~ 5,12,00 •

Poland Korea
~ c ~ NKN
' . ,/~ " . G °. . . . Egypl
"~ 4,000 -
Czechoslovakia "Spain
..E

Chile
USSF~ Romania
"1~ 3,000 - IraQ Rhodesia
Ausltaha Argenhna

~,
Alba ma Iran
Turl~ey ° TrBa,la ncl
• o S K o r e.a
oSyna Peru B,az,I ~h AI
• So~ ,,ca
• ° •
• °
Pak~slan Me=leo •
o *" : U,uguay
Po~ugale Indla~ - ~ • -- _
~.~o •...... -"-~ r~ - . - . - ~ . - ' - - . - . "r
• • o o
Sudan •

I I I I I I l I I F

N N N N N N N N N N N S S S S 5 S 5

Fig. 1. Corn y i e l d as a f u n c t i o n o f l a t i t u d e . (- - -) Average y i e l d for each 10 ° o f l a t i t u d e .

TABLEI

Summary of average corn yields, solar radiation, night temperature and day length for each 10 ° latitudinal belt

Latitudinal belt 5° N--5° S 5--15 ° 15--25 ° 25--35 ° 35--45 ° 45--55°

Number of countries 10 27 23 15 12 11
Average corn yield (kg ha -1 ) 998 1018 1190 1788 3920 4714
Solar radiation (langleys day -1 ) 446 464 523 599 546 461
Night temperature 64.0 ° F 70.8 ° F 71 ° F 67.8 ° F 61.2°F 55.8°F
17.8 ° C 21.6° C 21.7 ° C 19.9° C 16.1°C 13.2°C
Day length 733 rain 755 rain 784 min 830 min 883 rain 940 min
12h, 13min 12h, 35rain 13h, 3rain 13h, 50 min 14 h, 43 min 15 h, 40 min

t'~
¢..n
258

H o w much of the yield differences between the tropics and temperate

regions are caused by the technological inferiority of tropical farmers? And
h o w much reflects environmental constraints in the tropics? An examination
of the maximum corn yields obtained in experimental plots in Asia indicate
that they increase from about 6 , 5 0 0 k g h a -1 in the Philippines to about
1 0 , 0 0 0 k g h a -1 in Pakistan ( 2 8 ° N ) and to about 1 6 , 0 0 0 k g h a -1 in South
Korea (36 ° N).* Similar increases of experimental corn yield with latitude
have also been observed in the Americas. The world record yield of 24,100
kg ha -1 (352 bushels/acre) was obtained at a latitude of 42 ° N in Kalamazoo,
Michigan.
The difference in maximum experimental yields between the tropics and
high latitudes in the ratio of 1:2.5 largely reflects climatic effects. The dif-
ference of actual field yields in the ratio of 1:4 must incorporate additional

8000

Y = 13563 4 + 19 1 8 X ( M i n u t e l

r =
6000

>

2000

I000

12h I~h 30m 13h 13h 30m 14h ~4t 30m 15h 15~ 30m 16h 16~ 3~m

DAY LENGTH

Fig. 2. Linear regression between corn yield and day length.

* Maximum experimental yield data are taken from the following sources: (a) J.L. Brew-
baker, Progress o f Korea's corn green revolution: a review and recommendation. Septem-
ber 1979, Univ. of Hawaii, College of Trop. Agric., mimeogr. Ms, 7 pp. (b) Development
o f the Transfer Model and Soil Taxonomic Interpretations on a Network of Three Soil
Families. Benchmark Soils Proj. Prog. Rep. 2, Univ. o f Hawaii and Univ. of Puerto Rico,
1979, 80 pp. (c) S y m p o s i u m on Maize Production in Southeast Asia --Present Situation
and Future Problems. Tokyo Agric. For. Fish. Res. Council, Min. Agric. For. 1968,
186 pp.
 259

8600

10£g

Y : 8584 79 99 90Xi°F)
2
r : 226

I:

4000
{3
J
>-

~800

2000

1000

;c
0
b(]°F 54°F ~E~°F 6Z~ 66°F ?O°F 74~F 78°F O2°F 86~1

NIGHT TEMPERATURE

Fig. 3. Linear regression between corn yield and night temperature.

losses due to inadequacy of s0il nutrition, pests and diseases, and other tech-
nological deficiencies in the tropics.
Multiple regression analysis of actual field corn yields for 98 countries
with solar radiation, night temperature, and day length gives the following
equation:
Y = -- 9846.98 --1.463 R -- 27.829 T + 17.787 D
(1.233) (13.750) (1.754)
where Y is corn yield in kg ha -1 , R is solar radiation in langleys d a y - l , T is
night temperature in °F, and D is day length in minutes. Values in paren-
theses are standard errors.
The multiple correlation coefficient of 0.81 is significant. Standard error
of estimate is 953 kgha -~ .
Correlations are also c o m p u t e d between corn yields and individual clima-
tic parameters. D a y length has the highest correlation with corn yield. Some
geneticists are of the opinion that 30 to 35 ° of latitude is the transitional
zone between hybrids and tropical varieties. A day length of 14 h 30 min is
required for high yields (Fig. 2). The development of better strains for
tropical use is extremely difficult and time consuming. The exploitation of
260

unadapted germplasm from temperate to tropical photoperiod regimes or

vice versa requires judicious and long-continued genetic conversion which
have yet to be successful (Brewbaker, 1974).
Night temperatures and corn yields are negatively correlated (Fig. 3). In
the experiment conducted by Peters et al. (1971), an increase of 1°C night
temperature would reduce corn yield by 3.6%. The difference in night tem-
perature between the 5 to 15 ° belt and the 45 to 55 ° belt would produce a
yield difference of about 30%. The mean night temperature is low in the
5 ° S to 5 ° N belt because of the presence of several highland areas. In general,
corn yield in the tropics increases with elevation (Wilson et al., 1973; Darrah,
1976).
Correlation between corn yield and solar radiation is very poor (Fig. 4).
This does not mean radiation is not important. Instead it suggests that on a
global scale its importance is overshadowed by day length. The highest radia-
tion intensities are found in the subtropics between 25 and 35 ° latitudes,
where the corn yields are only intermediate. In high latitudes, in spite of the
low radiation intensity, corn yields are extremely high largely because of the

8000

7000

Y = 1127 2 8 * 1 59X
0000
2
r = 006

5000

~w 4000
0

>-

3000
o
o

2000
I

• l• 0o•
1000 • o• • •
,# •

0
350 400 450 500 " 550 000 000 700

SOLAR RADIATION (Langleys/Day)

Fig. 4. Linear regression between corn yield and solar radiation.

 261

longer day length and, to a lesser extent, because of the low night tempera-
ture. In the equatorial zone, low solar radiation is coupled with short days
and warm nights to produce extremely low yields.

CONCLUSIONS

Corn yield in the tropics averages only about 25% of that in the temperate
zone poleward of 35 ° latitude. An examination of maximum experimental
yields seems to suggest that with better farming management corn yield in
the tropics should be about 40% of that in the temperate zone. Long day
length is primarily responsible for the very high yields in the temperate zone.
High night temperature probably reduces the corn yield in the tropics by
some 30%. Solar radiation, though important in determining yields in indi-
vidual fields or small areas is a minor factor in explaining the yield difference
on a global scale.

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