In short…
While the 2025 harvest season is ending, with only sugar beet still being collected, the 2026 winter crop season has begun across Europe. Sowing is progressing well in most regions, and the establishment of winter cereals and rapeseed is generally favourable.
Dry conditions are slowing sowing in central Italy, eastern Hungary and western Romania. Excessive rainfall in southern Romania and northern Bulgaria has caused major delays. Outside the EU, Türkiye and the Maghreb continue to face severe rainfall deficits, leading to a suboptimal start to the season.
With a mild autumn in the past few weeks, winter hardening is noticeably less advanced than at this time last year. With lower temperatures arriving, the limited hardening, in some areas combined with delayed development, increases vulnerability to frost damage.
Areas of concern
Weather conditions across most of the Europe have been predominantly favourable. However, minor concerns exist in areas where below-average or abundant rainfall occurred.
Locally dry conditions in southern and eastern Europe and neighbouring countries:
- Central and western Italy: Rainfall totals were 25–50 % below average, particularly in central regions. These deficits may cause localised delays in winter crop sowing, but no major concerns have been reported so far.
- Eastern Hungary and western Romania: 50 % less than the normal precipitation was received. Soil moisture remains hardly sufficient for good early crop development, and additional rainfall will be desirable to avoid crop deterioration before dormancy.
- Türkiye and Cyprus: The drought persisting from last season has not yet eased, and most agricultural areas have received very limited precipitation. The start of the sowing campaign has been delayed, but the optimal sowing window remains open.
- Maghreb: Sowing was delayed due to the lack of rainfall. It is now in full swing, but very low topsoil moisture levels may have hampered the emergence of the sown crops.
Overly wet conditions in eastern Europe:
- Southern Romania and northern Bulgaria: Heavy rainfall in early October led to excessively wet soils, disrupting sowing operations and limiting field accessibility. Although drier conditions since mid October have allowed some progress, sowing remains significantly delayed and the optimal sowing window will soon close.
Further agricultural information
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Links to related topics
O artigo foi publicado originalmente em JRC.