Agrometeorology: Snow is good for plants

(Photo: Pixabay)

At the beginning of last week, winter weather that has not been experienced for years arrived, so in the past ten days, 20-35 millimeters of precipitation fell in several places in the southern and eastern parts of the country, while 10-20 millimeters fell in the north, however, only 3-5 millimeters fell in some places in the western and northwestern regions. With this precipitation, a surplus of precipitation has developed in many places in the southern areas of the country in the 30-day precipitation total compared to the multi-year average, while a deficit is still experienced in the northern and north-eastern parts of the country. The soil moisture content has not changed much compared to the conditions at the beginning of January, and most of the precipitation that has fallen since then is still present in the form of snow, so it has not yet seeped into the soil. The temperature has been 3-8 degrees Celsius below the long-term average for the past week, with the coldest temperatures last Friday and Monday, when the daily average temperature was around minus 10 degrees in the eastern part of the country. On Friday, the air cooled to minus 20 degrees in some places along the northern border and in the Great Plain. In most places, the temperature remained below freezing during the day. No frost formed in the ground due to the insulating effect of the snow layer, and very light ground frost can only be experienced in the upper 5-10 centimeters in the northeastern part of the country.

Rapeseed and winter cereals are dormant under the snow

The snow is very favorable, it protects the plants from frost damage, and when it melts, the moisture slowly seeps into the soil. In the Great Plain, the deeper soil layers are still dry, at least the upper one meter should be filled by spring so that there is a moisture reserve for the plants in the summer. According to the forecast, the current relief will only continue until Saturday, with frosty days and harder frosty nights returning from Sunday, but significant precipitation is unlikely.

MTI