The sequence of mostly cloudy, slightly sunny days that occurred recently slowed down the development of winter crops. The situation is far from generating an alarmgiven the height of the productive cycle in which we are, still incipient, despite yes it has something restless to many farmers.
Edgardo Rostán, producer and president of the Uruguayan Chamber of Agricultural Services (CUSA), highlighted that “the lack of days with good light complicates, we need the sun so that the plants grow in the ideal way”.
He said that after an implantation of rapeseed, barley and wheat that was carried out in general at the optimal dates, the births of the plants were very positive, but immediately, in June, “the water was cut off.” Luckily in July the rains came, he pointed out, but at the same time the days with little sun “and now everything is late.”
“Vegetatively, the crops, after starting very nice, now have little body, it’s like they fell asleep, they are about 20 days late,” he said.
He pointed out that “It is not to alarm, not even close, there is still a long way to go and as soon as the weather settles, this will be fixedonly if we have to be very attentive, keeping an eye out for leaf diseases, but except in rapeseed and in some specific sector, luckily there isn’t much going on.”
Marcelo Jacques, private advisor to agricultural producers, highlighted that the rains that there were lately “came very well”because “they were needed”, however, he specified that this, while having a great benefit “It complicates the issue of herbicide applications, fertilizers, some urea… but it needed to rain”.
He urged, where there has been some excess of wet conditions, to carry out constant monitoring, “to be above the farm” to act in the event that the appearance of any disease is verified, for example a fungus.
Winter Area Push
In a report prepared by Blasina y Asociados for the Agro supplement of The Observer, it was indicated that Uruguayan agriculture is undergoing a strong development and closed a very special autumn. After a very good harvest of summer crops, he headed his third consecutive very good harvest of winter crops.
The area of these crops (wheat, barley and rapeseed) is estimated in the private sector to exceed 700,000 hectares for the first time in history, according to projections in the sector, mainly due to the increase in the area of rapeseed.
From the seed sector, a very strong increase in area is projected, up to 752 thousand hectares with a primary estimate in which rapeseed could even exceed wheat: 275 thousand hectares of rapeseed, 260 thousand of wheat and 217 thousand of barley.
Andrés Alayón, president of the Agro-Livestock Association of Dolores (AAD), added that “here it has rained well, not excessively, which has been good for the crops.”
He even mentioned there is an area near Agraciada and Carmelo where it didn’t rain “and although it’s hard to believe, it has problems with drought, given how small the country is”.
“The rains were positive and helped many crops get beautiful,” he added.
consulted Regarding the possible appearance of signs of sanitary difficulties, he said that “it is normal, some spots appeared on barley and some on rapeseed, but it is normal”within fully controllable parameters.
He also indicated that, given the need for sun for plants to carry out photosynthesis, cloudy days if they are so many are not a good thing, but since it is in an early stage of vegetative development it is not a situation that worries much, after which He reiterated that the rains have been “very positive.”
