Frost and snow: what is happening with winter crops in Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
Winter grain crops in Ukraine are dormant, which is normal. Snow cover protects crops from freezing, but in the central and southern regions, it is insufficient.
Winter crops, i.e., winter cereals in Ukraine, are currently dormant. Tetiana Adamenko, head of the agrometeorology department, told a UNN journalist about how weather conditions observed this winter affect plants and whether they pose a critical threat to the harvest.
Details
With the onset of cold weather, winter crops, which are sown in autumn, stopped their active development. This is a natural stage necessary for the formation of the future harvest. According to the specialist, the current state of crops corresponds to the seasonal norm.
Winter crops, with the transition to the winter period, which occurs in November or December, enter a state of winter dormancy. The temperature drops below +5 degrees, and at 0 degrees, the crops actually cease vital activity and "fall asleep." Currently, all winter crops are in exactly this state.
Snow cover plays an important role for safe overwintering. It protects crops from freezing during severe frosts. The situation in different regions of Ukraine differs significantly.
For normal overwintering of winter crops, a snow cover of at least 10 centimeters is necessary. In the northern and western regions, it is reliable: in the Zhytomyr region, as of today, the snow cover reaches up to 40 centimeters in places. In the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, and western regions, crops are well protected, and temperatures of -15…-20 degrees are absolutely safe there.
At the same time, in the central and southern regions, the snow situation is more difficult. There is either little snow or none at all, but no severe frosts have been recorded there yet. According to the agrometeorologist, the combination of low temperatures and the absence of snow can pose the greatest risk.
In the central regions, the snow cover is small: from one to seven centimeters, but there were no such severe frosts there either. In the south, there is almost no snow, but the temperature did not drop to critical values. Currently, there is no serious concern about the overwintering of winter wheat.
The level of frost resistance also varies depending on the type of plants. Rye and wheat are the most resistant, while barley and rapeseed require more favorable conditions.
The most frost-resistant crop is winter rye. Wheat also has high frost resistance. But winter barley and winter rapeseed are more sensitive to frosts, so the risks are higher for them, especially in regions without snow cover.
Farmers will be able to assess the actual condition of crops closer to the end of January, because that is when special studies are conducted that allow determining the percentage of plant death.
After January 25, monoliths are taken from the fields at meteorological stations and placed for regrowth in laboratories. After 10-15 days, it becomes clear how many plants have survived. In recent years, due to mild winters, the death of winter crops has practically not been observed.
According to her, nothing critical has happened to Ukraine's agriculture yet, and the further situation will depend on the weather conditions in the second half of winter.