Abstract: Based on the mean monthly air temperature in 24 weather stations during May to September from 1980 to 2009 in Heilongjiang province, maize varieties data, the observational data during corn growth period and the monthly NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data at 500 hPa, the characters of low temperature and cold damage and the mean monthly anomaly synthetic field of different circulation situations at 500 hPa were analyzed. The results indicate that cold damage often happens in August and September during corn growth period, followed in June, July and May. The frequency of cold damage is the highest in the north, then in the east, the middle and the west, while it is the lowest in the south of Heilongjiang province. When cold damage appears in the south, it also happens in the north, the middle and the west as well as in most of the east. The mean monthly 500 hPa anomaly fields in the region of cold damage are mostly negative values in the month of cold damage. The cold damage regions are divided into three subregions, i.e. serious subregion, common subregion and weak subregion. The 500 hPa anomaly values in cold damage region are the highest in the serious subregion, then in the common subregion, and it is the lowest in the weak subregion.

Key words:  Heilongjiang province, Maize, Low temperature and cold damage, Anomaly, Circulation situation classification