Dharmapurikar et al. (2026) Irrigation and historical reductions in the interannual variability of Midwestern maize yield

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Environmental Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-26
• Authors: Mukta Dharmapurikar, Peter Huybers
• DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ae9ee3

Research Groups

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Agronomy and Horticulture
• University of Kansas Department of Geography
• Colorado State University Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Short Summary

This study examines the historical variability of US Midwestern maize yields, finding that irrigation is the primary driver of a decline in yield variability over 1950–2009. The results highlight the importance of irrigation for stabilizing agricultural productivity.

Objective

• Investigate the impact of climate change on agricultural yield variability and its implications for food security

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: US Midwestern region, focusing on Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado counties
• Temporal Scale: 1950–2009, with a focus on the period 1970–2009

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Fixed-effects model to analyze county-level yield variability
• Data sources: Annual maize yield data from the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), irrigation data from the US Geological Survey (USGS)

Main Results

• Irrigation is the primary driver of a decline in county-level detrended coefficient of variation (CV ′ ) over 1950–2009 in Nebraska, with consistent results across counties in Kansas and Colorado.
• Increases in irrigation are associated with reduced variability in rainfed yields within the same county.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the role of irrigation in stabilizing agricultural productivity and highlights the importance of considering irrigation when evaluating climate change impacts on agriculture.
• The findings suggest that yield volatility would increase if irrigation is reduced, emphasizing the need for sustainable water management practices.

Funding

• This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant number [insert grant number], the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under grant number [insert grant number], and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Agricultural Research Division.

Citation

@article{Dharmapurikar2026Irrigation,
  author = {Dharmapurikar, Mukta and Huybers, Peter},
  title = {Irrigation and historical reductions in the interannual variability of Midwestern maize yield},
  journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/ae9ee3},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae9ee3}
}