This summer's abnormal heat had little impact on early crops, but could reduce the yield of late crops by up to 10-15%. The exact data on heat-related crop losses will be available in September-October after the bulk of the crops are harvested. This was stated by the acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky during a telethon, UNN reports.
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"There are two main types of crops: early and late. If we're talking about harvesting wheat, barley, peas, rapeseed, rye, oats, millet, this is the early group. It was affected by the heat wave, but not critically. In some regions, the impact was worse, in the southeastern regions, but in general, we actually reached the previously forecasted figure for these crops with a difference of 2-3%," Vysotsky said.
He recalled that sunflower, corn, and sugar beet are among the crops with late ripening. They are harvested mainly in the fall, "they start in August, but the bulk is harvested in the fall.
"There is likely to be a greater negative impact of abnormal temperatures. It will be possible to determine the exact extent of this after the harvest, but as of today, it looks like the yield of these crops may be reduced by up to 10-15%. There are regions where there will be no reduction, where there was sufficient rainfall, which made it easier to cope with this abnormal heat. But there are regions where the impact is critical," Vysotsky said.
"We will know the exact figures of crop losses due to the heat wave in September and October, when the bulk of the crops will be harvested," he said.