Climatologists from Ryazan shared the results of the analysis of the strength of grain germination. The study was conducted by several district meteorological stations.
In an unusually warm and practically snowless winter, the soil freezing in the fields was only 12 centimeters, and the temperature of the soil at the plant depth dropped only to -1.5°C. As a result, the grains suffered only 4% damage in the region.
Monoliths are installed in agricultural lands every autumn to forecast the grain harvest and monitor the work of farmers. In the middle of winter, the monoliths are moved to a warm room and observe the seed germination. Currently, the sprouts are full of vitality, but their further fate depends on weather conditions.
"The seeds were sown in fairly dry soil, and about 60% of the sown seeds survived the winter at the seedling stage. This is not quite favorable and causes some concern - the course of the winter, the end of winter. If underdeveloped plants survived the winter with a snow cover, it would have been normal for winter, not for November, which we are observing now. Then there would have been less cause for concern," noted Roman Stepanov, the chief specialist of the Department of Agrometeorological Regime and Climate of the Ryazan Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring.