Abstract
BACKGROUND: The northeast district of China, especially Liaoning province, Jilin province, and Heilongjiang province, is one of the largest agricultural production regions in China. These regions play a significant role in ensuring food security. Accumulated temperature such as growing degree days (GDD) is an important environmental factor for plant growth and yield. Therefore, in this study, temporal and spatial distribution of GDD for maize was examined as a basis to estimate the growth and yield of maize in these regions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Meteorological date produced by NASA (MERRA-2) was used to estimate GDD of maize at this study sites. The GDD was calculated from sowing (May 1) to harvesting (Sep. 30). The average GDD of this region between 2010 and 2015 was $1323.0^{\circ}C$ day (595.3-1838.9). The spatial distribution of GDD showed a similar pattern during the different years surveyed. Double cropping for maize could be in only Liaoning province, northwestern Jilin province, and western and eastern Heilongjiang province where the GDD was over $1600^{\circ}C$day. However, The GDD in eastern Heilongjiang province was varied by year. CONCLUSION: The GDD of maize in northeast district of China was varied spatially, but similar among recent six years at the same region. This result can be used to predict growth stage and yield of maize at these regions.