The drought in Poland is reaching extremes. At the end of May wrote Boerenbusiness about the situation in the country. Official figures show no drought but, according to insiders, the situation is now getting extreme. The crops are visibly drawn.
Poland has a very special spring behind. The start was not ideal and after a wet autumn and winter it remained cold for a long time. The early potatoes were therefore planted a few weeks later than usual. However, the months of April and May were warm (with record weather). The crops then developed explosively. The harvest of early potatoes in the early potato area around Poznan is therefore not late.
Screaming for water
Drought is now affecting crops throughout the country. The grains on the sandy soil are literally scorched away. An insider says they will start harvesting winter barley around June 20. That is 2 weeks earlier than normal. The potato crops are crying out for water, just like the other vegetable crops (such as onions and carrots). Where possible, there is plenty of irrigation.
Due to the strong growth, potatoes now need a lot of water. It has been 30 degrees for days in a row, in combination with a strong easterly wind. The situation is particularly serious in the south-west of the country. There has hardly been any rain there in the past 2 months. However, there have been local thunderstorms, so the situation may differ per area.
Harvest started early
In the north of Poland it is also dry, but not extremely. Planting here was done later, so the crops do not immediately require water. It is dry in Central Poland, but it can be rained there. The harvest of early potatoes started this week, which has an impact on the import of table potatoes. The early potatoes, which are grown under fleece cloth, now have to be removed from the ground so that a second crop such as cabbage can be planted.
Yield reduction
Yield loss in grains is now irreversible. During the important period before grain filling, the crop had no moisture. A lower yield was already expected for rapeseed, as a result of the erratic spring. As a result, the crop has hardly developed. On the light soil, corn also suffers from drought. It went into the ground early this year. Livestock farmers fear a shortage of silage and hay.
According to the Polish statistics agency GUS, the area of grain will increase by 3% this year, to 7,2 million hectares. However, less winter grain was sown or was lost due to the wet autumn. The surface area for spring wheat and barley is therefore larger. The area of rapeseed has decreased by 13%.
Whether the drought is currently causing permanent damage to the potatoes is anyone's guess. Yet insiders think this is probably the case. In Western Europe, July and August are the all-decisive growth months. That moment is a little earlier in Poland. The ridges are often not completely covered. Especially with 90 centimeter beds, which can cause temperatures in the back to rise considerably.
Expectation
A slightly lower temperature is forecast in the coming days. However, from the weekend it will go back towards 30 degrees. Significant precipitation is not scheduled for the first half of June, which means the situation will not improve much. The recent thunderstorms have caused local havoc, but brought little rain.