Drought Prevented the Sowing of a Third of Winter Crops in Several Regions of Ukraine

At the beginning of October, the agro-meteorological conditions for soil preparation and sowing of winter grain crops in Ukraine turned out to be ambiguous. According to agro-meteorologists, most regions of the country observed a recovery of productive moisture reserves in the soil due to intense precipitation, which positively affected the emergence of winter crop seedlings.

This is reported by AgroReview

Impact of Weather Conditions on the Sowing Campaign

However, excessive rainfall in some western and central regions, as well as in certain areas of Odesa, led to the over-saturation of the topsoil, complicating fieldwork. At the same time, significant areas in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions continued to experience severe drought, which limited the opportunities for successful sowing.

“In the first decade of October, the climatically justified sowing dates for winter crops ended across the entire country. In most areas of the eastern, southern, and adjacent central regions, sowing took place in poorly moistened soil with insufficient moisture reserves, with nearly a third of the planned areas unsown. The rains recorded after the sampling for moisture reserves somewhat softened the agro-meteorological conditions for the initial vegetation of winter crops. However, they did not have a significant impact on soil moisture. In previously sown areas of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, due to a lack of moisture, the seeds have not germinated for almost a month,” the report states.

Negative Consequences for Late Crops

In addition to the difficulties with sowing winter crops, agro-meteorologists point out the unfavorable rainy and overcast weather that prevailed over much of Ukraine. This situation negatively affected the unharvested late crops.

Experts note that such weather conditions can significantly reduce the quality of the harvest of sunflower, soybean, and sugar beet.