Fig. 2: Nonlinear effect of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) on maize yield during the growing season.

a Effect of VPD on yield during the vegetative period (from planting to silking). Slopes to the left and right of the VPD threshold (vertical dashed line) indicate sensitivity to VPD below and above the threshold. The solid lines correspond to the ensemble average with colored shadow areas displaying the 2.5th–97.5th percentile range of 1000 bootstraps. b Effect of VPD on yield during the grain filling period (from silking to maturity), with sensitivity estimated below and above the VPD threshold as in (a). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.