Mid-September weather conditions supported final development of late crops in Ukraine

Agrometeorological conditions in Ukraine in the second ten-day period of September were generally satisfactory for the final development of late crops. According to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, productive moisture reserves in the 0–20 cm soil layer remained insufficient in some areas at below 20 mm, while significant rainfall substantially improved soil moisture conditions in eastern regions.

According to the Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, the average air temperature in its monitoring area was 15.9°C compared with the seasonal norm of 15.1°C. Rainfall over the past week totaled 26.8 mm, while soil temperature at a depth of 5 cm stood at 13.2°C.

Medium-late crop varieties are currently at the ripening stage and are mostly in satisfactory condition. Soybean plants are 100–105 cm tall, with no significant disease or pest outbreaks reported.

Millet and buckwheat have reached harvest maturity and have been cut into windrows, but rainy weather temporarily halted windrow pickup and threshing. On weed-free fields, buckwheat can be harvested directly once grain moisture declines to 13–14%.

Sunflower is at full maturity with seed moisture of 8–10%, corn is at the wax maturity stage with grain moisture of 20–28%, while soybeans are ripening with seed moisture of 16–21%. In Kyiv region, accumulated effective temperatures above +5°C reached 231–270°C on September 1–22, which was 30–54°C above the long-term average.

Tags: Ukraine, corn, sunseed, crop condition