The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) has reported that this year's harvest in Slovakia began unusually early due to a combination of adverse climatic conditions.
According to the institute, Slovakia experienced significantly above-average temperatures at the end of February and the beginning of March. The prolonged warm period accelerated the development of cereal crops during March and April. At the same time, several areas recorded significantly below-average monthly rainfall totals from March onwards. The resulting precipitation deficit intensified soil drought throughout the spring, with dry conditions persisting until June.
The prolonged drought caused uneven crop development, with field crops falling behind during April and May.
"In some cases, farmers were forced to plough under damaged crops as early as April. The extended period of soil drought, combined with above-average maximum daily temperatures, especially towards the end of June, led to so-called forced ripening of field crops," SHMÚ said.
Phenological data indicate that these climatic conditions had the most significant negative impact on the height of spring cereal crops. Below-average crop heights may therefore point to lower expected yields.
Source: TASR
