Mild conditions so far this winter in Europe have prevented the full hardening of cereal crops in some countries, leaving them vulnerable to a severe cold spell, the European Union's crop-monitoring unit said. No significant frost damage is estimated to have occurred across the European continent so far and this should remain the case this week despite a forecast fall in temperatures, the MARS unit said in a monthly crop report.

"The current situation is delicate, however, considering the weakly hardened crops in Europe's central regions," it said. "If the cold air intrusion is more severe than expected and accompanied by shallow snow cover, frost kill events could occur in eastern Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Baltic countries, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria."

Since mid-December, most of Europe had observed temperatures that were 2 to 7 degrees Celsius above seasonal norms, slowing or delaying the process by which crops become resistant against low temperatures, MARS said. But colder conditions in Russia, most of Ukraine and Belarus have allowed winter crops to become fully or near fully hardened, it added.

Wheat is Europe's main winter cereal, followed by barley. Regarding rainfall, parts of eastern Europe have experienced dry weather in December and this month, including major grain producers Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, and conditions could stay drier than normal until the start of February, MARS said. In contrast, some western regions saw above-average rainfall so far this month and this should remain the case in the week ahead in parts of France and the British Isles, it said.

Source - http://www.brecorder.com/

Mild conditions so far this winter in Europe have prevented the full hardening of cereal crops in some countries, leaving them vulnerable to a severe cold spell. No significant frost damage is estimated to have occurred across the European continent so far and this should remain the case this week despite a forecast fall in temperatures. Since mid-December, most of Europe had observed temperatures that were 2 to 7 degrees Celsius above seasonal norms, slowing or delaying the process by which crops become resistant against low temperatures.

Cold poses risk to European grain crops after mild spell