The wet soil in Vidzeme and Latgale makes sowing difficult, Andris Skudra, an expert in the Crop Department of the Rural Consultation and Education Center (LLKC), told LETA agency.
He said that the sowing work was planned to start at the beginning of April, however, due to the wet spring in Vidzeme and Latgale, they have started now. The ant noted that the soil was very wet after the fall, and the snow and rain of the last week did not allow the soil to dry.
The autumn crops were also too wet, and it was necessary to loosen and dry them, said Skudra, adding that it is only now possible to drive through the fields with light seed drills, while it is still not possible with heavy seed drills, because they sink in the wet soil.
Ant noted that the crops that did not overwinter are currently being reseeded. However, in well-wintered fields, pests spread intensively and to a large extent. He expressed that in order to protect crops, it is necessary to spray the fields with plant protection products. In Zemgale, spraying was done a week ago, but in Vidzeme a couple of days ago.
When asked about the fruit trees, Skudra pointed out that the plums in Zemgale have just started to bloom, while the buds of the apple trees are still opening, so no damage from the weather can be observed. He said that the flowering in Vidzeme could start next week and noted as a risk the temperature fluctuations that could hit Latvia next week. When the plums begin to bloom and the frost hits, the buds can freeze and die.
Also, the LLKC representative noted that rapeseed will not be affected by the frost, however, they are now beginning to flower and this may affect the pollination process.
On the other hand, the representatives of “Zemnieku Saeima” noted that about 80% of the members have done reseeding in their fields. A third of the owners have reseeded more than 30% of their crops.
LLKC has been operating since 1991 and is the largest rural consultancy provider in Latvia. Its purpose is to promote rural prosperity, while being aware of the responsibility for the rural environment, by providing customers with access to knowledge, consultations and other industry-related services.
