50 years of breeding to improve yield: how maize stands up to climate change

Despite significant advancements in agricultural practices, the challenge of increasing crop yields has intensified owing to the escalating impacts of global climate change. This article examines the implications for climate change adaptation of the genetic improvements that have enhanced the ability of maize crops to capture sunlight energy (interception efficiency), convert captured energy into biomass (radiation-use efficiency) and allocate dry matter to grain production (harvest index), driving substantial increases in maize grain yields over the past five decades. We focus on the following four major maize-producing regions: North America, South America, continental Europe and Northeast China. Our analysis reveals that historical advancements have resulted in traits that confer general stability against stress, providing a solid foundation for adapting to the anticipated climatic scenario. While improvements in plant architecture, grain partitioning and tolerance to biological stress offer a broader range of adoptable options, new breeding efforts will be essential. These efforts will require adjustments of the crop cycles to elude stress and the development of cultivars with enhanced tolerance to multiple, simultaneous stresses. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Crops under stress: can we mitigate the impacts of climate change on agriculture and launch the ‘Resilience Revolution’?’.