July – the development of agricultural crops will proceed at an accelerated pace

At the beginning of July, the development of agricultural crops will proceed under above-normal temperatures and, in most parts of the country, with good moisture reserves in the 50 and 100 cm soil layer as a result of the above-normal June precipitation, which in many places exceeded 80-100 l/m² (Vratsa – 169 l/m², Montana – 91 l/m², Shumen – 113 l/m², Sofia – 153 l/m², Plovdiv – 110 l/m², Sliven – 98 l/m², Burgas – 95 l/m²).

After the hot weather during the first days of the month, a normalization of thermal conditions is forecast at the end of the first and the beginning of the second ten-day period. During this period, precipitation of agronomic importance is expected, which will maintain good levels of soil moisture reserves in the 50 cm layer – above 75% of field capacity. This precipitation will be of significant importance for maize and sunflower, which are in the reproductive stage of their development, with high requirements for soil moisture (in maize, during the period between tasseling and milk maturity, the daily water consumption reaches 6-7 m³/decare). By mid-July, the vegetation of spring crops will proceed at moderate rates under thermal conditions close to the usual. In maize, depending on its earliness, different stages will be observed: leaf formation, tasseling, flowering of the tassel and silking. In sunflower in the field areas, the flowering stage will predominate, while in the crops in the higher fields – the stage of inflorescence formation.

During most days of the second half of July, the development of agricultural crops will proceed at accelerated rates, under temperatures above the climatic norms. At the beginning of the third ten-day period, part of the early maize hybrids in the field areas will enter the milk maturity stage. In sunflower, the formation and filling of the seeds will take place. At the end of the month, in sunflower crops sown within the agrotechnical time frame, in places in the Danubian Plain (the agrometeorological stations Bŭzovets, Knezha, Novachene) and in the southeastern regions, the beginning of the ripening stage will be observed.

The forecast dry, warm and hot weather during the third ten-day period will limit the development of a number of fungal diseases, with the exception of powdery mildews on vegetable crops, fruit trees and vines. In fruit crops, plant protection against diseases is advisable to be combined with control against the second generation of fruit moths, and in vines – against the larvae of the second generation of the grapevine moth. Conditions for carrying out plant protection spraying will be available at the beginning of July, during the second half of the second ten-day period and during most days of the third ten-day period. Treatments against diseases and pests should be carried out during the cooler hours of the day with products with an appropriate pre-harvest interval, consistent with the ripening period of the crops.

Source: NIMH