Agrometeorological forecast for the end of July

At the end of July, the vegetation processes of agricultural crops will take place at temperatures around the climatic norms. The expected precipitation in the middle of the period, mainly in Western and Central Bulgaria, will continue to provide the water required for the normal development of agricultural crops.

In sunflower, the seed-filling stage will be in progress, and at the end of the period in the southern regions of the country the ripening stage will also occur. In maize, different phenological stages will be observed depending on the earliness of the hybrids – flowering, silk emergence and browning of the silk, milk ripeness and transition from milk to dough ripeness.

During the period, it is recommended that plant protection activities in vegetable crops be directed towards protection against downy mildew, as well as against aphids and leafhoppers, which transmit various viral diseases (stolbur in pepper, cucumber mosaic in vegetable crops from the Solanaceae family). In vineyards, treatments for protection against powdery mildew will be carried out.

Conditions for carrying out agrotechnical activities (plant protection spraying and completion of the wheat harvest) will be available at the beginning and at the end of the period, when precipitation-free weather is forecast. Hail and deterioration of the quality of ripening fruit and vegetable production are again possible.

Source: NIMH