The drop in temperatures will restrain premature development in fruit crops

Unusually high temperatures at the end of the second ten-day period of January, reaching 18-19°C in many parts of the country, and in some areas (Vidin, Knezha, Lovech, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse, Silistra, Plovdiv, Pazardzhik) up to 20-22°C, have led to the activation of vegetative processes in the autumn-sown crops. The above-normal January temperatures have disrupted dormancy in the fruit crops. In the field regions of the country, massive bud swelling has been recorded in stone fruit species (almond, apricot, peach, cherry).

During the next seven-day period, agrometeorological conditions will undergo a change, significant in the second half of the period. The expected temperature decrease will restrain the undesirable, premature development of fruit crops and the reduction of their winter hardiness.

During the period, the forecast average daily temperatures in most of the field regions will be close to the biological minimum required for the vegetation of winter cereal crops. Exceptions are expected in the eastern regions, where at the beginning of the third ten-day period higher temperatures are forecast and conditions will be in place for the extension of vegetative processes in the autumn-sown crops.

At the end of January, the winter cereal crops will be in the third leaf and tillering growth stages, mainly in the stands in parts of the Danube Plain and in the extreme southwestern regions. Critical minimum temperatures for the overwintering agricultural crops are not forecast during the period.

The expected precipitation during the third ten-day period of January will improve soil moisture reserves in the upper layers, which have significantly decreased in the winter cereal crops as a result of the windy and unseasonably warm weather during the past period and the untimely vegetation of the crops.