Abstract

FERNANDEZ LONG, M. E.; SPESCHA, L.; HURTADO, R.  and  MURPHY, G. M.. Impact of the ENSO on corn yields in the Argentinean pampas region. Agriscientia [online]. 2011, vol.28, n.1, pp.31-38. ISSN 1668-298X.

The “El Niño Southern Oscillation” (ENSO) phenomenon is one of the main responsible factor for interannual climate variability in the “pampas” region. This work aims to analyze the impact of ENSO on the annual variations of corn production. The region was divided into 10 areas in which yields have a homogeneous interannual variability. Five ENSO indexes were used The results indicated that, in most parts of the region, the deviations of trend line yields are, in general, positive during “El Niño” events and negative during “La Niña”. However, the impact is very strong in the North and Centre of the analyzed region and weakens southward. In the southeast of the province of Buenos Aires, the behavior is different than the rest. Averaging indexes from May to July we obtained a good indicator of the ENSO impact on maize production, providing valuable information to make decisions with enough anticipation for the crop year.

Keywords : ENSO; Maize; Corn yields; “Pampas region”.

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