Condition of winter crops in Ukraine this season better than last year - ministry

MOSCOW. Dec 23 (Interfax) - Up to 65% of winter crops sown in Ukraine for the 2023 harvest are in good or excellent condition in December 2022, while the condition of the remaining 30%-35% will depend on the weather in winter.

The weather factor has not impacted the condition of crops sown this season, Ukrainian media said on Friday, citing the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.

"The results of a visual examination show that crops entered the winter in good or excellent condition on 65% (56% in 2021) of the inspected fields. The condition of crops on 28% (35%) of the sown area is assessed as satisfactory. On 7% (9%) of the sown area, the crops were underdeveloped (have not reached the development phase necessary to safely get through winter). The largest number of such fields (from 7% to 28%) is in the Kharkov, Vinnitsa, Odessa, and Lvov regions," the ministry said.

On October 28-30, Ukraine's Hydrometeorological Service measured the amount of productive moisture in the soil sown with winter crops, the ministry said. The deposit of moisture was optimal (21-40 mm) in the majority of sown areas, the deposit of moisture was too large (more than 40 mm) in some parts of the eastern, western and northern regions of Ukraine, while the moisture deposit was insufficient (less than 10 mm in some parts) in the southern regions and some areas in the central regions of the country. The most of such areas were in the Odessa region.

Meanwhile, the results of an agricultural and meteorological examination of winter crops showed that crops on 30%-40% of sown areas reached mass tillering in the second half of November, which will help them get through winter. Crops on the remaining sown areas had the third leaf and leaf bed. Such plants were 10 to 24 centimeters high, and there were 250-510 plants on average per square meter, and 600-670 plants per square meter on the best fields. The number of stems stood at 1.6-2.8 per plant.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal told Ukrainian media earlier that Ukraine would try to compensate for the reduction of the area sown with winter crops this season by increasing the area to be sown with spring crops next year.