In 2021, Russian plant breeders are threatened with an increased risk of drought - moisture reserves have decreased in almost all grain-producing regions of the European part of the country, follows from space monitoring data obtained by the National Union of Agricultural Insurers.
“The NSA calls on the regional authorities of the agro-industrial complex and farmers of the European part of Russia to pay special attention to the need to apply agro-technological measures aimed at conserving moisture in the soil and insuring crops. Even if the situation with precipitation changes in the next 3-4 months, it will take time in a number of regions to restore the moisture level in the arable layer, ”said the president of the union, Korney Bizhdov, commenting on the results.
NSA analyzed the state of accumulated moisture in soil in the European part of Russia during the autumn sowing period from August to November last year. Added to this is an estimate of the same indicator in the period from the beginning of winter - from December 1, 2020 to January 10. “The results look alarming,” comments NAA President Korney Bizhdov. - During the sowing of winter crops in almost all regions of the South, Center and the main part of the Volga region, the level of soil moisture was reduced compared to the average value for the previous 10 years. In a significant part of this territory, the decrease was from 20% to 50%. By mid-January, the situation had not fundamentally changed. In this regard, there are fears that the climatic phenomena that in 2020 have already led to a loss of crops in a number of regions and to problems with the autumn sowing, continue to develop now. "
In autumn, in the south and Central Black Earth Region, due to the lack of moisture, the sowing dates had to be postponed. By November 25, a record high level of winter crops in poor condition was recorded in Russia: 22%, while in a number of regions in the regions of the South and the Center of Agricultural Culture, they did not grow on plots that made up from 30% to 80% of the area sown in autumn. According to experts, by the beginning of December in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts, 40% and 36% of winter crops, respectively, had not grown or are in poor condition. On January 13, the Governor of the Stavropol Territory Vladimir Vladimirov announced a critical condition with winter crops: 80% of the seedlings are in an unsatisfactory condition.
According to the NSA monitoring systems, in the autumn agricultural period (from August to November), a decrease in the moisture level was observed in the main part of the European grain-producing territory of the Russian Federation: from the foothills of the Caucasian ridge in the south (Krasnodar, Stavropol Territory and others) - to the Nizhny Novgorod and Ivanovo regions in the north, from the Kursk and Oryol regions in the west - to the Orenburg region and the republics of Tatarstan, Udmurtia and Bashkiria in the east.
At the same time, the moisture deficit was most pronounced in the Central Chernozem region - the entire territory of the Voronezh region, most of the Oryol, Kursk, Belgorod and Tambov regions, where the corresponding indicator decreased by 20-30% compared to the ten-year norm. In the Volga region, part of the regions of Tatarstan, Mordovia and Chuvashia, as well as the Orenburg, Penza, Samara, Saratov and Ulyanovsk regions were in the zone of decline by 20-30%. In the South, the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region looked more prosperous than their neighbors: the decline did not exceed the range of 10-20%, while in the Stavropol Territory, Volgograd Region and the Republic of Kalmykia, the lack of moisture compared to the ten-year norm was extremely acute and varied from 20 to fifty%. At the same time, the plant vegetation index (NDVI) as of November 50 indicated the practical absence of active seedlings in almost all regions of the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasus Federal District.
On January 10, the situation with accumulative precipitation began to improve in the Central Black Earth Region. In Belgorod, Orel, Kursk, Tambov, and also partially in Voronezh and Rostov regions, the level of maximum moisture deficit decreased from 30% to 20% and 10%, depending on the region.
“A very similar situation was observed last year, only on a slightly smaller scale,” emphasizes Korney Bizhdov. - As a result, in many regions last year the death of crops from drought and spring frosts was realized. Insurance payments to farmers for the lost crops in Stavropol and Kuban alone amounted to at least 2020 billion rubles in 1,2. The loss of crops and pastures on a large scale in 2020 was also recorded in Crimea, the republics of Ingushetia and Kalmykia, the Volgograd and Saratov regions; losses were also noted in a number of other regions. Winter sowing for the harvest in 2021 was again carried out in conditions of a lack of precipitation - in an even larger area than a year earlier. The reversal of the agroclimatic scenario for the better is still possible, but in those regions where the moisture reserves in the soil are depleted, it is necessary to practically prepare for the pessimistic scenario, including with regard to spring crops. "
“Despite the losses to the farmers of the South of Russia, a number of regions of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, in 2020 Russia received the second largest ever record grain harvest in the amount of 132,9 million tons,” said NSA President Korney Bizhdov. - It speaks about the accumulated safety factor in agriculture. It is important to preserve it, regardless of what agro-climatic conditions are implemented next year. Including - through insurance of agricultural risks ”.