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News article18 March 20191 min read

Winter cereals mostly in good condition but rain is needed in southern Europe

green_shoots_of_wheat_on_farmer_field_in_spring_c_adobestock_by_goodpics_141022367.jpeg
Winter cereals in the EU’s northern wheat producing regions benefited from the mild winter and early spring.
© Adobe Stock, by Goodpics

According to the March 2019 issue of the JRC MARS Crop monitoring in Europe Bulletin, which was published today, winter crops are advanced and in good shape in most of Europe, following a mild winter.

Cold spells have been rare and have not caused significant damage.

In February and early March, the whole of Europe experienced milder-than-usual conditions, with the strongest anomalies observed in the Baltic countries, eastern Poland, Belarus and western Ukraine.

However, large parts of southern Europe experienced a precipitation deficit, and more rain will be needed to fully sustain crop growth.

Low levels in irrigation reservoirs have been reported for several regions of Portugal, Spain and Italy, where above-average rainfall in the coming months will be needed in order to ensure adequate water supply for irrigation during summer.

At this early stage in the season, the yield forecasts reported in this Bulletin are mostly based on historical trends or average values.

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Further information

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MARS bulletins - crop monitoring in Europe

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Publication date
18 March 2019