It is true that it is still too early to assess the size of this year's harvest, but it can already be said that due to the drought, there may be less grain corn in Poland. Prof. Michalski believes that it may be as much as 1 million tons less than last year, despite the fact that the area of grain corn is similar, at around 1.15 million ha. It should also be noted that grain harvest may start earlier than usual, as well as silage, which is already disappearing from the fields in poor positions, i.e. in the second decade of August.
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Prof. Michalski: Corn sowing almost finished. Area slightly smaller than last year
Condition of corn plantations
Corn is very diverse this year, but there are regions where the lack of rainfall has affected this crop the most, especially during the cob setting period, i.e. in mid-July. This mostly matches the data from the IUNG drought report, i.e. Podlasie, Lublin, Mazovia, Łódź Land, but also Wielkopolska, and even in his opinion the region with the drought problem is larger.
Therefore, even plantations that look good visually from a distance, upon inspection, reveal small and poorly grained cobs.
– High temperature, above 30 degrees Celsius and full sun exposure, affect weaker cob formation. Then the viability of pollen decreases and hence poor graining. This was the case this season – says the professor.
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Silage corn is already being harvested. WIR has presented the crop calculation
The silage corn harvest has started
What about silage corn? It has indeed already been cut down and this date is very early. Yes, silage harvests began in August, but not in the second ten days of that month. According to the president of PZPK, there is no point in waiting.
– Some plantations, on weaker, sandy soils, are already 75, and sometimes even 90 percent yellowed. In such a situation, even the maturity of the cob is not decisive, but the water content and, let's say conventionally – the maturity of the leaf stalk. I remind you that for silage to be successful, it must contain a maximum of 35 percent dry matter. Now, some plantations give the impression that the share of dry matter reaches even 37 percent – Prof. Tadeusz Michalski told us.
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In Romania, they are already cutting corn for grain. Drought has devastated crops
