The beginning of winter – high temperatures and suitable conditions for pre-winter sowing of cold-resistant vegetable crops

At the end of December, the agrometeorological conditions will undergo a substantial change. At the beginning of winter, they will be determined by weather that is warm for the season. The forecast average daily temperatures in the middle of the third ten-day period of December will reach and exceed the biological minimum required for the resumption of vegetative processes in winter cereal crops in the field regions of the country. In the northwestern part of the Danubian Plain and in the southeastern regions, the above-normal December temperatures, with maximum values above 15-16°C, will create conditions for vegetation to proceed in wheat and barley.

At the end of December, winter cereal crops will be predominantly in the 2nd–3rd leaf growth stage. Part of the late-sown November stands will enter the winter insufficiently hardened, at the emergence and initial leaf formation stages. Only a small portion of the stands of wheat and barley sown within the agrotechnical time frame in the Danubian Plain (Novachene agrometeorological station) and in the Upper Thracian Plain (Plovdiv) are in the tillering stage, which is the appropriate stage for overwintering.

During the period, significant precipitation is not expected and the conditions will allow the performance of pruning and phytosanitary activities in orchards. The third ten-day period of December is a suitable time for pre-winter sowing of some cold-resistant vegetable crops (peas, carrots, faba beans, onions, etc.) in the southern regions of the country.

Source: NIMH