Unfavorable weather conditions in many parts of Europe are disrupting the sowing of winter cereals, according to a November report by the European crop monitoring agency MARS, German news portal Agrarheute reported on November 29.
Incessant rains and flooding have delayed or hindered planting in western and northern Europe since mid-October. Western France, northern Germany and western Poland were especially affected.
Excessive moisture not only prevents sowing, but also impairs the emergence and initial growth of cereal crops. However, sowing rapeseed can still be carried out under suitable conditions, notes MARS.
However, this is now also becoming critical for rapeseed. Across most of Europe, conditions were warmer than normal well into November. Only in Scandinavia was it colder than usual. At the end of November it is very cold almost everywhere.
At the beginning of October, planting conditions were still relatively favorable in most of Central Europe. However, in Western Europe and parts of Northern Europe, excessive rainfall since mid-October has delayed or prevented completion of planting.
The situation is especially critical in western France, where, due to prolonged rains, less than half of the planting has been carried out, MARS reports. The effects of heavy and frequent rainfall are also important in the Benelux countries, northern Germany, Denmark and western Poland. Bad weather prevents equipment from accessing the fields and negatively affects the early development of crops.
Farmers note that weather conditions not only disrupted the planting of winter crops and the emergence of seedlings, but also affected the harvest of potatoes and sugar beets. For example, in the south of Ireland, replanting may be necessary due to flooding of fields. And in eastern Spain, southern Italy and especially eastern Romania and Bulgaria, dry conditions prevailed. They also caused delays in sowing and poor germination.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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