It is dry through low soil precipitation. “The situation is not beneficial”

Doctor Anna Nieębca from the Institute of Fertilization and Glass Science – the National Research Institute in Puławy She explained that the snow acts like a natural water warehouse. Slowly releases moisture into the soil during melting. However, this year there was little snow. Limited snowfall and low rain in most of the country, as the expert noted, result in a visible water deficit for crops, which is especially noticeable in the southeastern region.

– Generally in the spring we always had a supply of water in the soil. Thanks to melting snow, the groundwater level was supplemented. It was a kind of moisture injection that enabled plants to use plate water. Currently, the situation for agriculture is not beneficial – she emphasized.

As the doctor noticed noted, low rain in this period is unfavorable for cereals, especially for rapeseed, because plants need water not only for growth, but also for taking nitrogen, which is supplied in spring and is of key importance for yield.

According to the expert, it is too early to talk about drought and predict this year's collections. – Currently, the plants are still small and do not require large amounts of water. The greatest demand for water occurs when cereals enter the stroke phase during the period of full foliage, just before flowering – she noted. According to her, the weather will be crucial for cereal growth. – Heavy rainfall in May usually guarantee good yields. The water accumulated in the soil during this period will be used by plants in June – she noted. As she reported, farmers can counteract soil drying using intracereal tensioning and leaving crop residues in the fields, which limits water evaporation. The expert pointed out that the most important thing is to care for the content of humus in the soil, because it improves its fertility and the ability to store water. – Caries acts like a sponge. Even in the case of heavy rainfall, such soil stops water better – she added.

She also definitely criticized the practice of burning grass in the spring. She indicated that it leads to the destruction of biodiversity, carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and creates the risk of fires spreading. On March 3, the Minister of Agriculture Czesław Siekierski noticed that farmers are already complaining about drought, which affects the crops, efficiency and feeding of feed for animal production. – This is a great challenge, especially in the Kuyavian -Pomeranian land, in Greater Poland, i.e. in those parts of Poland, where agriculture is high -production – he said.