Agricultural Monitoring attributes delay in crop planting to the dry period

The start of sowing for the 2020/21 harvest is in anticipation of more abundant rains in most of the country's grain producing regions. Nature's help until the first fortnight of this month was below the expected average, as was the ideal soil moisture for cultivation, especially in the largest producing regions such as the Central-West and Southeast.

The analysis is in the Agricultural Monitoring Bulletin, produced and published by the National Supply Company (Conab) on its website. The anomalies in the Vegetation Index, according to the publication, reflect both the delay in sowing summer crops and the impacts on winter crops. On the other hand, firm weather favors the maturation of crops and the wheat harvest in the three states of the Southern region.

Evolution of crops

The state of Paraná is the one with the most advanced wheat harvest, with 79% of the cultivated area, a scenario that is similar to that of the last harvest. In Rio Grande do Sul, whose cereal development was favored by firm weather, solar radiation and significant thermal amplitudes in the maturation of grains in some locations, the harvest reached 19% and, in Santa Catarina, 12% of the crops are in harvestable condition .

For soybeans, in Mato Grosso, with slow sowing until the end of the first fortnight, delays of 14% were recorded in relation to the previous harvest, in most of the producing locations. In Goiás, forecasts of heavy rainfall were not confirmed and oilseed planting occurred slowly in much of the state. In Mato Grosso do Sul, many producers have started sowing, but the expectation of favorable climate forecasts remains. In Minas Gerais, planting is estimated at around 15%, and São Paulo also suffers from a delay compared to the previous year.

Regarding the evolution of corn in the first harvest, with the risk of compromising regular or poor crop conditions due to low rainfall, the best situation is in Paraná, which did not suffer a significant delay in planting compared to the last harvest. Minas Gerais estimates planting at 25%, and in Goiás, the journey should take place after soybean planting.

The Agricultural Monitoring Bulletin is an agrometeorological and spectral assessment resource used by Conab to support harvest estimates, market analysis and stock management, in addition to field data. The focus is on the evolution of the grain harvest in the main producing regions of the country, more focused on winter crops (2020 Harvest) and summer crops (2020/2021 Harvest), during the first fortnight of the month.

Here more details on the evolution of crops in the states and producing regions.