The situation with winter crops in Ukraine is quite difficult - expert

The situation with sowing of winter crops in Ukraine is quite difficult due to insufficient amount of moisture in almost all regions of Ukraine for the sowing period of winter wheat. This opinion was shared by Ivan Svidinyuk, agronomist-consultant of the company “Strueb Ukraine”, the press service of Tekom Agro Group reported.
According to his assessment, despite the fact that there are no strong frosts and snow, the soil is cold and the root system does not fully provide plants with nutrients, the issue of feeding winter wheat is acute, because you can dramatically lose yields.
“We did not have enough moisture in almost all regions of Ukraine for the sowing period of winter wheat. Odessa region was lucky in this respect, as the rains came earlier. At the same time, crops in Kyiv and Cherkassy regions are in a somewhat worse condition. However, there are also problems with crops in Odessa Oblast due to sowing in late dates. This season there are practically no September sowings, mostly all October sowings”, - shared the agronomist.
In addition, the specialist noted that due to the warm winter, almost all pests, diseases and pathogens will overwinter together with wheat and barley, which can create serious problems in the early-spring period.
“We may have to start the complex of applying the necessary chemical preparations earlier, although even here we need to look carefully at the temperature and try not to work at temperatures below +12°C. I think spring may be cool and prolonged. This will also affect not only the development of winter crops, but also the development of diseases and pests. Further monitoring and effective crop condition management for each field will be key to ensure good yields,” I. Svidinyuk added.