The beginning of February was warmer than usual with little rain.
The frost reached up to minus 3-8 ° С, in Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Transcarpathian regions – to minus 9-12 ° C.
Throughout Ukraine, precipitations of varying intensity were noted, which lasted on average 1-3 days.
In Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions precipitation amounted to 8-11 mm, in the rest of the country – it has not exceeded 1-4 mm, in Lugansk, Donetsk, Kirovograd and Ivano-Frankivsk there was no precipitation at all.
Snow cover. By the end of the first decade of February in western regions the height of the snow cover did not exceed 1–9 cm, in some areas of central and southern regions there was no snow on the fields.
In northern and some western regions the snow thickness reached 11–38 cm; in highlands of the Carpathians (Pozhezhevskaya weather station) – up to 85 cm.
Soil freezing on February 10, 2019 amounted to 10 cm in most of the territory of Ukraine.
In Dnepropetrovsk, Luhansk, Sumy, Kiev and Zhytomyr regions and in some areas of western regions, the soil had frozen up to 11-35 cm.
In most areas of southern regions, in the Transcarpathian region and in certain areas of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev and Kirovograd regions soil thawed, and in the Volyn and Lviv regions thawing of upper soil layers by 5-6 cm was noted.
In early February, winter crops were in a state of winter dormancy, only in some places in the southern regions there was temporary vegetation.
Soil freezing at the depth of tillering of winter crops and perennial grasses (3 cm) was minus 1-4 ° C, which significantly exceeds the critical temperature of winterkill. Calculated critical winterkill temperature of winter rye was minus 15-17 С; winter wheat at the seedling stage – 3 leaves – minus 12-14 С, in the tillering stage – minus 15-16 С; winter barley – minus 9-12 С.
As of January 25, 2019 according to data taken by meteorological stations, no significant killing and damage to the plants was detected, all the samples of the plants had grown. In Ukraine as a whole, out of 4% of samples taken from winter wheat and from 14% of samples of winter rye, sparseness is within the natural range, namely 1 – 10%.
Thinning is not found in winter rapeseed, winter barley and perennial grasses.
