Grain yields are low due to drought in Békés County

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According to the data, winter barley was sown on almost 31 thousand hectares, and the harvest is expected to be completed this week. The yield shows a large dispersion between 4-7.5 tons/hectare; at 90 percent harvest, the average yield is 5 tons per hectare. According to farmers, the current barley hybrids should yield 6-8 tons per hectare.

Barley is drying up from below due to lack of rainfall, and burning from above due to strong UV radiation

The purchase price ranges between 59-62 thousand forints per ton, which according to farmers is not enough for the “cultivation” costs, as the prices of fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides, as well as fuel are also rising – they announced. József Bozó, vice president of the Békés County Directorate of the National Chamber of Agriculture, stated according to the announcement, “initially the barley crop seemed promising, but in the end there were many small, dried grains, and the yield per hectare was lower than expected, so barley will definitely be unprofitable this year”. The rye sown on 1,130 hectares was almost entirely harvested green, as so-called hay, with a green mass of 20 tons/hectare. According to the committee report, the harvest of seed peas – which are grown on 4,100 hectares – is 60 percent complete, the average yield is 2 tons per hectare, and the purchase price is 130-140 thousand forints per ton.

The harvest of winter wheat starts this weekend, it will coincide with the harvest of rapeseed

The former was sown on 107 thousand hectares in Békés, and the latter on almost 9,700 hectares. According to the data of the Agricultural Department of the Békés County Government Office, almost 600 drought damage reports have been made, mainly in the last two weeks, typically regarding cereals. Since October last year, 200-250 millimeters of precipitation have fallen in the county, precipitation only occurred locally in June this year, and most of the county did not receive any rain. Among other things, corn would need one hundred to two hundred millimeters of soaking rain. “Such rainfall would still be able to grow the plants to 2-3 meters and would promote the proper saturation of the corncob,” said József Bozó.

The only positive thing about the drought is that it also inhibits the development of ragweed

Significant infestations have not been typical so far, a bigger problem usually occurs in the second half of the summer. – was said at the committee meeting. It also turned out that based on this year’s submission of uniform applications, there is a concentration of holdings in Békés County: 11,846 applications were submitted, which means a decrease in number compared to the previous year (12,389), but the area has not decreased (approximately 433 thousand hectares).

MTI