October 23, 2000

Eastern Europe: Dry Conditions Hinder Fall Planting

As the corn and sunflower harvest is winding down in southeastern Europe, fall planting of winter wheat and barley is underway. A drought has continued to plague the Balkans throughout the year and has left surface soil moisture levels scant to insufficient for fall field work. This has delayed planting throughout the region. Problems for the fall crops will intensify rapidly if no rain is received within the next few weeks. The optimal planting time for much of the region is in October, before November’s freezing isotherm drops through southern Europe and ends fall plant growth. Bulgaria has recently received some badly needed moisture, which should boost sowing, but even Bulgaria needs significantly more rainfall for proper germination and emergence.

Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, escaping the harshest effects of the prolonged drought that occurred further south, benefited from wetter and cooler weather the second half of the season. This should have assisted farmers in attaining a more normal fall planting schedule. The temporary reprieve from the dryness however, has presently ended in eastern Poland as no significant rains have fallen in a month, and topsoil moisture is minimal. Fortunately, moisture should reside beneath the surface throughout northeastern Europe, and if autumn rains do return to the region, the soil could quickly replenish to levels needed for proper establishment. The current outlook, however, is for more dry weather.

View surface soil moisture levels on 17 October 2000 and 17 October 1999

Current weather in eastern Europe

For more information, please contact Bryan Purcell with the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division on (202) 690-0138. email: purcellb@fas.usda.gov