Insufficient precipitation complicate planting campaign in Ukraine

In the third decade of August, soil water capacity in the areas intended for sowing winter crops for the harvest 2020 was insufficient thus drought was observed in most of the territory, the APK-Inform consultancy reports.

Soil droughts are one of the main causes of winter crops delayed sowing, slow plants development, thinned crops in the fields and insufficient tilling capacity.

"Sowing of winter rapeseed, the reasonable climatic terms of which end in the first ten-day period of September, was conducted in complicated conditions, it was even terminated because of completely dry soil," says the report.

Weather conditions were favourable for accumulation of sugar in fruit and sugar beet roots as well as for harvesting of late and industrial crops, the vegetation of which accelerated due to early sowing terms and increased heat availability.

Agrain Group started sowing winter rapeseed for the harvest 2020, yet it had to be paused as a result of drought in the regions of the company's presence.