The weather continues to test the strength of Mykolaiv farmers. After a catastrophic summer drought, a new challenge has come: due to temperature fluctuations, the fields of the region have turned into real icy lakes, agronews.ua reports.

These days, thaw has begun in the Mykolaiv region. The snow started melting rapidly, but the ground could not absorb the moisture. In most parts of the region, the topsoil has thawed only 2-4 cm, while the depth of freezing remains significant – from 15 to 36 cm.

In Pervomaisk and Voznesensk, the situation is even more complicated: there the ground froze to a depth of up to 39 cm, and the top layer had not even started to thaw. As a result, the melting water simply accumulated on the surface.

The frosts that hit again last week turned this water into an icy crust. For the future harvest of winter crops, this is a critical situation:

Oxygen starvation: Prolonged exposure of plants to an oxygen-free environment (under a layer of ice) literally “suffocates” winter crops.

Loss of crops: Physiological processes in the root system are disrupted due to the icy captivity, leading to weakening and mass death of plants.

Currently, farmers in the region are anxiously monitoring the forecasts, hoping for a gradual warming that will allow the water to seep into the soil without finally ruining the crops.

Source - https://agronews.ua