This week, wheat sowing tasks in Argentina ended with a final area of 6.3 million hectares and an outlook that is beginning to generate some “yellow lights.”
“Although there are still some hectares to be incorporated in the southern sectors of the agricultural area, they would not impact the current estimate,” said a report from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange on Thursday.
“The work is ending early compared to the previous cycle, due to the lack of surface moisture caused by the absence of rain and frost,” he added.
The proportion of wheat area in fair to poor condition rose from 6% to 16%, that is, it multiplied by 2.6 in just one week. Currently, 84% of the wheat area is in normal to good crop condition, but the water condition reflects a week-on-week drop of 12 points with 40% of the wheat in the tillering stage onwards.
“The crop shows some damage due to cold, yellowing and in extreme cases loss of plant stands, but good rooting is also observed as a consequence of low temperatures,” the report notes.
Moderate rainfall is forecast for the coming days on the eastern edge of the Argentine agricultural area, which, if it occurs, would have a favorable impact on the condition of the crop and would allow fertilization work to resume before the start of critical stages.
However, the western and northern sectors of the Argentine agricultural area still do not present any prospects for rainfall contributions, which represents a great concern because the quarterly forecast for both areas is not favorable.
The north of the Pampas region is adding to the concerns with discouraging weather forecasts
