Kherson region farmers refused to grow sunflowers due to drought

Severe drought in the region has forced farmers to abandon sunflower. This crop, despite its general drought tolerance, requires a significant amount of moisture during the key phases of growth: basket formation and flowering. Due to the lack of moisture on the right bank, farmers are refusing to grow it.

This was reported in an ICTV story by local farmer Maksym Maksymov.

Due to the extremely dry weather, farmers on the right bank of the Kherson region are reorienting their crop production: instead of grain, they now prefer vegetables, as irrigation is more efficient there. This is a significant change, because before the full-scale invasion, most vegetables were imported from the left bank, while the right bank was dominated by grain. The need to restore irrigation systems directly affects the cost of production, making vegetables grown here more expensive than in neighboring regions.

In the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, the prolonged heat and lack of rain caused the condition of late crops to deteriorate. In some areas, crops had to be mowed or re-discovered due to wilting, disease spread and stunted growth.

In mid-July, Ukraine experienced warm, sometimes hot weather with intermittent rains. Most precipitation fell in the western and some northern regions. In the southeast, on the other hand, drought continues due to a lack of rain. The highest temperatures were recorded in the South, East and Central regions.

According to agrometeorologists, heat, low humidity and lack of rain in the southern and central regions of Odesa oblast led to dry winds. This has worsened the condition of late crops, including sunflower and corn. Plants wilted, yellowing, curling and drying of leaves and stems were observed in the fields. In some farms, sunflower crops have already been re-sown due to the poor condition.

Катерина Глушко