Frost no danger yet
Winter wheat is entering the winter softly
A lack of winter weather in Europe has ensured that winter cereals have a very mild winter. They are not hardened off or covered in snow to withstand serious frost. The European Commission (EC) reports this in the MARS bulletin for December.
The astronomical winter starts on Thursday 21 December. Most of the European countries are treated to little winter weather in November and December. It has been especially wet and soft. The winter grains, especially winter wheat, are hardly hardened off as a result. That message the EC in their latest MARS crop report for 2017.
frost tolerance
Hardening off the grain is necessary to make the plants resistant to frost. Otherwise, 'frost kill' can occur on a large scale. In the Netherlands this is not often a problem. It has only occurred sporadically in susceptible breeds in recent years. In Eastern Europe, however, the danger is real.
According to European calculation models, most cereal crops in the European Union (EU) currently have little or no frost tolerance. Only in parts of Scandinavia, the Baltic States, southern Germany and some Eastern European countries are the crops sufficiently hardened off for the winter.
Hardening delayed
In a large part of Northern Europe, the Baltic States and the Black Sea region, the winter cereals are still buttery soft and not hardened at all. The weather in November and December has been warm. This has changed since mid-December, but the hardening off has slowed down considerably, the MARS report says.
If the weather turns and the temperature suddenly drops sharply, this can be disastrous for the grains. However, it is a 'what if' scenario. Long-term weather forecasts indicate a temperature that is warmer and wetter than normal. Despite a lack of snow cover, there is no fear of wintering. Moreover, the grain in Russia is sufficiently hardened. In Ukraine, there is still fear of a lack of sufficient snow cover.
Niels van der Boom
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