Winter crop losses in the Vitebsk region will not exceed 10%

The projected crop loss of winter cereals in the Vitebsk region will not exceed 10%, the RUP "Vitebsk Zonal Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus" informed a BELTA correspondent.

According to specialists, the current condition of cereal and rapeseed crops is assessed as normal. The plants are covered with snow, and spring vegetation has not yet been observed. Deep soil freezing (averaging 40-50 cm across the region) and optimal average daily air temperatures (from minus 1 to minus 4 degrees Celsius) contribute to anabiosis.

However, if the snow remains on the fields until mid-April, there will be a risk of winter crops being infected with snow mold and other fungal diseases. Specialists will be able to provide an accurate assessment of crop viability only after the complete snowmelt. In case of winter crop loss, the region has a seed insurance fund amounting to 20% of the total volume sown in the autumn.

Due to the prolonged cold weather, Vitebsk region farmers will have to significantly shorten the spring sowing campaign. Work is planned to begin in the second ten-day period of April and conclude by May 10, the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee reported.

Farms in the Vitebsk region are fully supplied with seeds (for cereals, these are elite, super-elite, and first reproduction seeds). The supply of mineral fertilizers is at 65% (farms are almost fully supplied with potash fertilizers, 43% with nitrogen fertilizers, and 32% with phosphate fertilizers). The remaining volumes of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers will be delivered to the districts by April 15, the regional agricultural department assured.

The tight deadlines for sowing will require organizing work in three shifts. Currently, equipment repair is being completed, with the readiness of the machine and tractor fleet at 95%. Issues regarding the involvement of additional labor resources are being addressed. As of today, farms in the Vitebsk region are short of over 1.1 thousand machine operators. This problem will be solved through the supportive assistance of enterprises from cities and district centers. Students from vocational-technical schools and senior university students are planned to be involved in spring field work.

This year, the total sown area in the Vitebsk region will be 850 thousand hectares, of which winter grains occupy 231 thousand hectares, and winter rapeseed - 55 thousand hectares.