KIEV - The state of Ukrainian winter grains is almost unchanged over the last week despite favourable wet and warm weather, analyst group UkrAgroConsult said on Monday, adding that a forthcoming cold snap may affect weak plants.
About 87.4 percent of the winter wheat area sown for the 2016 harvest had sprouted as of Dec. 24, compared with 86 percent as of Dec. 17, the consultancy said in a statement.
A severe drought during the summer and autumn, affecting half of Ukraine's grain region, forced farmers to halt winter grain sowing, leading to concerns of a poor harvest in 2016.
More favourable weather in recent weeks had improved the condition of some winter crops, but too long a period of mild weather risks making plants less resilient to a cold snap.
"During December 21 to 25 (the) weather was unusually warm for the given period, accompanied with minor precipitation in the major parts of Ukraine. These conditions do not allow stable transition to winter dormancy," the consultancy said.
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The share of sprouted winter wheat crops in good condition accounted for 30.7 percent of the total as of Dec. 24, while 36.3 percent of crops were in a satisfactory state and 33.0 percent were in poor state.
By comparison, about 29.8 percent of winter wheat crops were in good condition a week earlier, while the share of crops in satisfactory state accounted for 37.4 percent as of Dec. 17, and 32.8 percent of crops were in poor state.
Weather forecasters have said a cold snap with average temperatures of up to 14 Celsius degrees below zero is expected in Ukraine in late December and early January, and could affect weaker crops as protective snowfalls are not forecasted.
"This weather will not damage winter crops immediately, because the air temperature will be still higher than critical," UkrAgroConsult said.
"Winter crops may suffer considerably if the air temperature decreases to 15-20 degrees below zero and persists for more than five days without snow cover", it added.
But the consultancy said the condition of weak and sparse crops could raise concerns, as their frost resistance is quite low.
