Summer crops in central Europe in poor condition following extremely hot weather

A heat wave in late August and lack of rainfall worsened the yield outlook for summer crops in large parts of central Europe, according to the yields forecast Bulletin covering the period from Aug. 1 to mid-September released by the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC).

As most summer crops had already reached maturity in eastern Europe during the period, this latest episode of dry and hot conditions did not have a relevant negative impact, and may even have been beneficial for ripening, said the JRC.

But in central European regions, where summer crops were still in the grain-filling phase, crop conditions remain critical. The growth of non-irrigated crops in these regions was already stunted due to heat waves in July and early August.

Southern Poland and southern Germany were particularly affected. All non-irrigated crops in these regions were in poor condition.

Moreover, in France, rainfall in late August led to a significant improvement in the conditions of summer crops in western and southern regions, but conditions remain poor in eastern cropland areas, said the JRC. Endit