Air temperatures dropped and winter crops stopped growing in Bulgaria from November 21-30.
In West Bulgaria air temperature fell to 10-13 degrees C below zero. Owing to a 10-15-cm layer of snow, which covered this part of the country, late-sown winter cereals (sown in the latter half of November) at early development stages were protected against low temperatures.
The beginning of December featured further predominance of below-normal temperatures in the country, therefore winter crops stayed dormant.
A predicted temperature drop to -10-11 C in the remainder of Bulgarian regions, not covered with snow, may be critical for winter cereals at the stages of three leaves or tillering. There is a risk of winterkill for winter crops at the seed sprouting stage.
According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture, as of November 24, winter wheat had been sown at 1018.5 thousand ha. The pace of sowing is 3.5% less than in 2015. On the same date in 2015 winter wheat was sown at 1054.9 thousand ha.
The pace of winter barley sowing is 21.4% behind. As of the reporting date winter barley was sown at 124.6 thousand ha against 158.6 thousand ha in 2015. (UkrAgroConsult/Business World Magazine)