Agrometeorological forecast for the month of June

During most days of the first and second ten-day periods of June, the agrometeorological conditions will be determined by unstable weather. At the beginning of the month, the development of agricultural crops will proceed at a slower pace, under below-normal temperatures. Until the middle of the first ten-day period, precipitation is forecast in many parts of the country, improving the soil moisture reserves in the 50 cm layer and the conditions for the vegetation of spring crops. The rainfall at the end of May and the expected rainfall at the beginning of June proved to be much too late for the autumn-sown crops in many places in Eastern Bulgaria, where the reproductive phases of their development occurred under an increasing soil moisture deficit. In a large part of the eastern regions, severely reduced yields are forecast, and in some places the prematurely yellowed crops, with poorly filled ears, will not be harvested.

After the cooler-than-usual weather for the season during the second half of the first ten-day period, an improvement in thermal conditions is forecast. During the ten-day period, in winter cereal crops in the high fields, grain filling will take place. In the lowland areas, wheat will be at the milk ripeness stage, and by the end of the ten-day period, in some places, the beginning of the wax ripeness stage will also be observed. During the interphase period from grain filling to milk ripeness, serious damage to wheat is caused by the larvae of the Sunn pest. During this period, wheat crops must be monitored for the presence of the pest, and if its density exceeds the economic threshold of harmfulness, timely treatment is necessary.

At the beginning of the second ten-day period, in the lowland areas barley will be predominantly at the wax ripeness stage, and rapeseed will be at the ripening stage.

During the second half of June, the development of agricultural crops will proceed at a faster pace. At the end of the second and the beginning of the third ten-day period, wheat will predominantly be at the ripening stage.

By the end of June, some of the spring crops will enter the reproductive phases of their development: in sunflower, the beginning of flowering will be observed, and in the earlier maize hybrids – tasseling and flowering of the tassel.

The forecast unstable weather in June, with frequent precipitation, will create conditions for the development of a number of fungal diseases: downy mildews in vineyards and vegetable crops, scab in fruit trees, etc. During the month, the probability of hailstorms will remain elevated. After a hailstorm, the affected fruit and vegetable crops must be treated with copper-containing fungicides at the first opportunity.

Source: NIMH