According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine the agricultural producers of the majority of regions reached the finish line of the autumn sowing campaign, and some regions have already finished it. But in Odessa oblast sowing of winter crops is considerably delayed: as for October 25 winter crops were sown on only 35% of the planned area – 268,4 thousand hectares out of 760.
According to Vyacheslav Ukhanov, the owner of the Lan agricultural holding, the sowing has been delayed because of the strong soil drought, “ProAgroGroup” reports citing AgroTimes. In particular, in Bessarabia, the last productive precipitation was on July 5, so virtually no one sowed winter grains at optimal sowing dates (October 1-10).
“Only on October 14-15, 15-20 mm of precipitation fell, yet not in all districts of the oblast. However, this insignificant amount of moisture allowed the farmers to start sowing,” – said Vyacheslav Ukhanov.
He also added that such a delay of sowing is not critical for the Odessa region. Thanks to mild winters, winter crops are sometimes sown in November and even in December and give good yields.
At the moment, 201,5 thousand hectares of winter wheat (37% of forecast), 66,9 thousand hectares of winter barley (30%) and 105,7 thousand hectares of winter rape (88%) are sown in the oblast.
