At the end of June, the Odessa region experienced warm weather, with some days being hot and accompanied by light rainfall.
This is reported in the Analytical Note on agrometeorological conditions and the state of agricultural crop fields in Ukraine by NAAS, published on the Ministry of Agrarian Policy website.
According to the Institute of Climate-Oriented Agriculture of NAAS, the maximum air temperature on the warmest days in the region reached up to 29ºC, while on other days it ranged from 24 to 27ºC. The average air temperature was 21.7ºC.
“The total amount of precipitation was 1.0 mm, which is only 5% of the norm for the third ten-day period of June,” the experts noted.
The harvest of early grains and oilseeds started two weeks earlier than usual. A combination of spring frosts and soil moisture deficiency resulted in a reduced grain yield. Harvesting of winter wheat, peas, and rapeseed has begun.
“In most farms, rapeseed plants are short-stemmed, have fewer pods per plant than usual, and in some areas were damaged by frost, which led to reduced productivity,” the scientists clarified.
Corn plants sown in the third ten-day period of April developed 12-14 leaves, while those sown in early May formed 7-9 leaves. Plant height ranged from 91 to 112 cm. The condition of the crops is mostly good. Productive moisture reserves in the arable soil layer were 15-16 mm, and in the one-meter soil layer 90-92 mm (norm is 115 mm), which were sufficient for crop growth and development.
On most sunflower fields, inflorescences continued to form, while in some southwestern areas flowering had begun, which is two weeks earlier than the average long-term dates. Plant height ranged from 94 to 137 cm, and on late sowings, from 50 to 71 cm. The condition of the crops was good to satisfactory. Productive moisture reserves on most fields decreased to insufficient or unsatisfactory levels and in the arable soil layer ranged from 1 to 10 mm, while in the one-meter layer they were 19-62 mm. However, in some areas moisture reserves remain sufficient or satisfactory, the institute concluded.
