Ag Weather Forum

Foreign Crop Areas Weather Update

Joel Burgio
By  Joel Burgio , DTN Senior Ag Meteorologist

A look at a few crop areas around the world, outside of the North and South America areas.

South Africa Maize and Sugarcane areas: We continue to note the development of weak El Nino in the Pacific. This can sometimes have an impact on the maize and sugarcane areas of South Africa. This season has featured a few periods of hotter, drier weather for both of these crop areas but so far timely rains have prevented significant stress from hitting either crop. The forecast for this week shows a trend towards below normal rains and above normal temperatures for northern areas of the maize and sugarcane region with a tendency for normal rains and more seasonal temperatures through the southern areas. This area will be watched for any sign that the El Nino may be impacting the area as we move through the southern hemisphere summer, December through February.

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Australia is also a region that would normally be impacted during El Nino years. However, at this time of the year the main winter wheat crop is in harvest and the summer crops are not very big as it concerns the global picture. We do not occasional periods of extreme heat and dryness impacting the east-central Australia area which appears to be affecting the cotton and sorghum crops in the area.

Russia produces a winter wheat crop and other winter grains this time of the year. This area has been in the news during recent weeks in terms of a continued dry weather pattern that has been in place since the middle summer period. The late fall period has seen an increase in rainfall for the southern most wheat areas of Russia which has eased concerns a bit. However, many areas in western and southern Russia are still very dry and will need generous spring rains to ensure favorable development. A generous winter snow season would also help to replenish soil moisture if it were to occur and assuming a relatively orderly spring melt of this snow. Snow would also help to protect wheat from winter cold as a poorly established winter grains crop in Russia would be at some risk of increased winter kill in the event of cold winter temperatures. This will be watched during the coming months.

China winter wheat and rapeseed areas have received adequate early fall moisture but the area has recent turned somewhat drier.. The temperatures are still warm enough for development of these crops in the southern part of the area. The crops have recently been relying on irrigation to supplement the drier soils. However, the forecast suggests some increase in shower activity during this week with continued warm temperatures.

India winter wheat and rapeseed areas reply mostly on irrigation supplies by the summer Monsoon rainy season. We did note a slow start to the monsoon early in the summer but the rains came on strongly later in the summer and reports suggest adequate irrigation for these crops. The wheat crop may also see seasonal shower activity during the January and February time frame as the northern jet stream drops into the region during normal winter weather. This added rain is needed to supplement irrigation during the high moisture usage period when the crop is in reproduction.

(ES/AG/CZ)

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