Ukraine: About 10% of winter grain lost because of adverse weather - estimate

About 10 percent of Ukraine’s winter grains will be lost as a result of adverse weather during the autumn and winter, the national Hydrometeorology Center was quoted as saying by Bloomberg on February, 28.

Some areas will have to be reseeded in the spring, Tetiana Adamenko, head of the weather center’s agriculture department, said.

“There will be no massive damage to winter grain plants,” Adamenko said. The weak plants are mostly winter barley planted in late autumn in the Kirovohrad, Odessa, Luhansk and Ternopil regions, according to the statement.

Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said Feb. 22 that winter grains are in good condition and “there is nothing to worry about.” The grain harvest probably will increase 18 percent this year to 46.23 million metric tons, researcher UkrAgroConsult said on Jan. 11.

Spring fieldwork will probably begin in the first half of April and the number of days with favourable soil conditions and temperatures will be “quite low,” Adamenko said.

Temperatures will gradually increase in the first 10 days of March, the researcher said, adding that cold conditions are expected in the middle of the month.

02 March, 2011