Crop adaptation to environmental stresses is central to sustainable agriculture. In eastern Australia, central India and China temperature has increased over the past 40 years. Cropping systems and varieties are designed so that water availability and crop water requirements are well matched, and crops are not exposed to extreme temperature and water supply conditions during critical crop development phases. Mismatches between crop and environment occur when the critical period of crop yield determination coincides with stressful conditions. Possible mismatches arising from realized and predicted warming are the focus of this project. Project activities have been of three types: · Workshops in China, India and Australia to plan and monitor technical activities, and to ensure that project outcomes were achieved · Case studies in the three countries to allow us to draw conclusions on similarities and differences in the responses of cropping systems to realized and in some cases predicted climate change, and · A specific Early Career Researchers’ Program for professional development within the project. The project demonstrated that, in some cases, the effect of regional warming can be positive, for example in northern China where the extended growing season leads to increased productivity in the winter wheat-maize system. We also identified examples of adaptation such as supplementary irrigation, breeding new varieties with better adaption to the new Climate, or concentrating agriculture in areas more suited following Climate Change.
Project • ARCP2010-16NMY, ARCP2011-08CMY-Huda