Weather in Ukraine favors harvesting but not winter crop sowing

During the first ten days of September, soil moisture reserves hardly increased due to the lack of effective rainfall, according to a report by the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.

Agrometeorologists noted that soils in areas designated for sowing winter crops for the 2026 harvest remained weakly moistened, while in many districts of the southern and central regions they were dry. Soil drought deepened and spread, creating unfavorable conditions for field preparation and the emergence of winter rapeseed sown in August and early September.

Soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm remained almost consistently high for this time of year, at +20…26°C. In most regions, with wind speeds above 5 m/s, light dry winds were observed.

Local thunderstorms in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions partially improved conditions for sowing, but after a prolonged dry summer, the moisture deficit there remains critical.

In the northern and western regions, conditions were better — overall agrometeorological factors were satisfactory, although a shortage of rainfall was also recorded. Soil moisture replenishment occurred only locally, where heavy rains improved the condition of the upper soil layers.

At the same time, weather conditions were favorable for harvesting late and industrial crops: sunflower and corn reached harvest maturity, while fruits and root crops actively accumulated sugars.

Tags: Ukraine, harvesting, crop condition