Tillage experts optimistic over wheat crops, despite dry spell

TILLAGE experts are keeping a close eye on spring barley and wheat crops in the hope that the recent regional dry spells haven’t done too much damage.

While crops in Munster have seen plenty of rainfall, crops in the north-west, north-east and south-east have been hit by near-drought conditions. Yet, despite crops being decimated by drought in central Europe and parts of Russia, experts here remain relatively optimistic.

Teagasc crops specialist Michael Hennessy said: “Growers would be happy with a few days with an inch or one-and-a-half inches of rainfall, than for the rain to stop for two or three weeks, followed by a similar pattern again after that.

“It is hard to tell right now whether or not there is going to be much of a knock-on effect from that recent dry spell. Along with the dry conditions, there was a good deal of wind, so a lot of the crops certainly don’t look as good now as they did heading into the dry spell. Time will tell what the impact will be on the spring barley and wheat crops.”

Met Éireann’s reports show that the widespread heavy rainfall for the week or so should have eased the soil moisture deficit (SMD) threat for now.

The Met office said that agricultural drought occurs at around 75mm of SMD, when reduced soil water reserves cause crop and livestock yields to diminish markedly. The worst impacts of the recent dry spell were recorded in the east, at around 30 to 40mm of SMD.

Met Éireann agricultural meteorologist Sarah O’Reilly said: “The Irish weather information doesn’t indicate any immediate problem with rainfall. The soil moisture deficit in the south and west are very close to normal.

“In the east, up around Dublin, it is higher, so the soil is drier than normal. There is less moisture available for growing crops, but it is not at a level to cause drought conditions.”

However, Irish tillage farmers are keeping a close eye on European rainfall, where drought looks set to continue with little relief for parched farmland until June at the earliest, forecasters say.

Parts of central Europe saw less than 40% of their long-term average rainfall from February to April. Even some of the normally wettest areas saw less than 80% of their mean for 1951-2000.

Meteorologists are predicting further droughts in France and Germany, raising major concerns for their wheat crops. On stock markets, benchmark European wheat futures have risen 11.5% since May 5 as a result of anticipated shortages.

Last summer, global food prices surged when drought destroyed Russian and Ukrainian wheat harvests. The picture this spring and for the summer is more mixed. Dry weather in the spring is likely to be repeated over the next seven to ten days, causing most damage to crops along the Volga and Newlands region.

Nonetheless, Irish experts believe that just a few days of good rainfall and reasonable wind conditions should be enough to see Irish spring crops through the dry spell.

Mr Hennessy said: “In Munster, there is no difficulty in terms of a lack of rainfall. In the north-east and north-west, it did come close to conditions that would effect the crops, with close to 45mm of soil moisture deficit in Donegal. We will have to wait and see what impact that has.”

Met Éireann defines an agricultural drought as occurring when reduced soil water reserves cause crop and livestock yields to diminish markedly. Absolute drought is a period of 15 or more consecutive days, on none of which 0.2mm of rain falls. Partial drought is a period of at least 29 days in which the mean daily rainfall does not exceed 0.2mm. A dry spell is a period of 15 or more straight days, on none of which 1mm of rain falls.