Winter Crops in Ukraine Begin to Resume Vegetation

A significant decrease in frost was observed at the end of the third decade of February and the beginning of the first decade of March. This is stated in the Analytical Report on Agrometeorological Conditions and the State of Agricultural Crops in Ukraine by the NAAS, published on the Ministry of Agrarian Policy’s website.

Experts note that during this period, there was a transition from negative to positive air temperatures. According to scientists, during the third decade of February, Ukraine continued to experience a shortage of precipitation. Only in the western, and in some cases, eastern and central regions, minor precipitation in the form of snow and wet snow was observed on certain days. This week, only the Odesa region saw rain, with a total of 8.2 mm (74.5% of the climatic norm for the first decade of March), but it did not significantly replenish the productive moisture reserves in the soil, which under winter crops in the one-meter soil layer were only 70–80%.

The average air temperature ranged from -8.9°C to +3.8°C: in the eastern regions, it was 4.5°C below the norm, while in the western regions, it was 4.9°C above the norm. According to the Institute of Climate-Oriented Agriculture of the NAAS, the warming that occurred over the past week led to the thawing of soil to a depth of 10–15 cm, and since March 6, winter crops have begun to resume their vegetation. In farms where it is possible to access the fields, fertilization of winter crops has started, with almost 60% of the areas fertilized so far. In the southern districts of the Odesa region, harrowing of fallow lands and some winter cereal crops has begun. Meanwhile, winter crops remain in a state of winter dormancy in the Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Lviv regions.

Tags: Ukraine, crop condition