Effects of Drought on Crop Production and Cropping Areas in Texas

Abstract

Core Ideas Drought causes significant yield reductions both for rainfed and irrigated crops. Drought can have impact on cropping areas and crop yield. Changing crop types can be used to cope with drought challenges during drought periods. Increased crop yield is required to meet the needs of future population growth, but drought causes significant yield reductions for rainfed and irrigated crops. This study evaluates the impact of drought on crop yield and cropping area over 10 climate zones in Texas from 2008 to 2016. It also depicts the spatiotemporal distribution of crop yield and cropping area changes at each climate zone across the state. We analyzed the impact of drought on crop yields and cropping areas before and after the 2011 severe drought using annual crop yields of four major crops. Results show that drought had a greater impact on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) and lesser impact on cotton (Gossypium spp.) and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] production across Texas. Cotton and corn hectarages were reduced during the drought period and increased after that, whereas winter wheat hectarage was reduced in the northern climate zones and increased in the southern climate zones before the drought. Results also indicate that drought impact on crop production may be reduced by replacing water‐demanding crops such as corn with drought‐tolerant crops such as sorghum and expanding irrigation hectarage during drought periods. It may be beneficial for Texas agricultural production to increase the hectarage of sorghum and other grains especially during drought periods. This study provides valuable information that can be used to adopt appropriate measures to cope with future drought challenges in drought‐prone regions.

A Physio-Morphological Trait-Based Approach for Breeding Drought Tolerant Wheat

“…Between 2005 to 2007, Australian food prices increased at twice the rate of the consumer price index, and this increase was attributed to the drought events of 2004 and 2006 (Quiggin, 2007). Similarly, inconsistencies in winter wheat production were observed during the 2011 to 2013 drought in Texas, United States: a yield reduction was observed in 2011 and 2014 while the yield increased in 2012 (Ray et al, 2018). Many African countries have also been prone to drought events at different times of the year, including a 2009 drought in Kenya which reduced wheat production by 45% (Rauf et al, 2016).…”

Assessing the Effect of Drought on Winter Wheat Growth Using Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)-Based Phenotyping

“…In 2020, it was planted on 1.9 million hectares, of which 0.97 million hectares were harvested for grain with a total production of 16 million Mt [1]. The frequent occurrence of drought poses a threat to winter wheat production in this region and reduces the yield under both the dryland and irrigated conditions [2]. The historic drought of 2011 and 2012 reduced wheat yield in Texas to 1.2 Mt compared to the five-year average of 2.5 Mt per hectare [3].…”

Quantifying the Impacts of Land-Use and Climate on Carbon Fluxes Using Satellite Data across Texas, U.S.

“…The study area Texas (area = 695,622 km 2 ) has ten climate zones and 12 ecological regions [61,62]. The ten climate zones are: High Plains (HP), Low Rolling Plains (LRP), East Texas (ET), Edwards Plateau (EP), South Central (SC), Trans Pecos (TP), Upper Coast (UC), North Central (NC), Southern (S), and Lower Valley (LV).…”