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To get that perfect ear of corn, weather has to cooperate. But climate change is making it dicier
(www.clickorlando.com)
We need to stop growing most varieties of corn and instead switch to growing the Oaxacan corn that is capable of fertilizing itself by excreting a nitrogen-filled snot type substance. Those corn plants also grow significantly larger and taller than most types of corn.
Beyond that, corn actually responds pretty well to heat stress and dry conditions. Some of the highest producing corn fields are in Texas, rather than Iowa or wherever you might expect. But one of the key problems they identify in the article is that harder rain washes away the nitrogen fertilizer at bad times. An issue that can be solved with self-fertilizing corn.
Oaxaca is also a more tropical location, so that corn is more tolerant of heat and rainfall in general. I would assume it can be hardy against drought as well, since most corn is. Its a corn basically built for the changing conditions of the climate, but we dont grow it. Largely because no one wants to properly pay the people down there, who spent tens if not hundreds of generations breeding it to what it is today. We could easily set them up financially and solve all of our corn woes at the same time, rather than continuing to grow corn that will (sooner than later) not want to grow in our climate anymore