Sowing Dates for Spring Crops Change Due to Warming

In the Lviv region, the weather in the third decade of March was marked by significant fluctuations in average daily air temperatures, ranging from 10.7°C to -1.2°C, with the ground freezing at night to a depth of 3 to 6 cm.

This is reported by AgroReview

According to the report from the Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region of NAAS, during this period, 17.5 mm of precipitation fell in the form of rain and wet snow, which is 125% of the norm for the second decade of March. At the same time, an unstable snow cover formed, reaching heights of 1-2 cm.

Impact of Weather on Plant Vegetation

The decrease in average daily air temperatures below the biological minimum and dropping to negative values led to the cessation of plant vegetation. However, spring frost down to -7°C did not harm winter wheat, while winter barley plants showed signs of leaf chlorosis.

“In recent years, due to warming, the sowing dates for spring agricultural crops have shifted to very early, and this spring is no exception,” the institute notes.

Scientists explain that early spring grains are quite frost-resistant. For example, oat seedlings can withstand spring frosts down to -3…-5 °C, barley up to -3…-4 °C, and spring wheat during seed germination can endure frosts down to -13 °C. However, negative temperatures during germination can negatively affect the further development of plants.

Crop Status as of March 18

As of March 18, in the agricultural formations of the region (all categories of farms), early grains have been sown on an area of 2.74 thousand hectares, which is 6.7% of the projected volume. In particular, the area sown with spring wheat is 2.30 thousand hectares (13.6%), with spring barley — 0.24 thousand hectares (2.1%), and with oats — 0.20 thousand hectares (1.6%).