Spring works get underway in Belarus

Belarusian agricultural companies have prepared 66,700 hectares of land for spring sowing works, or 2.85% of the plan. As of the same day last year only 21,000 hectares were prepared, or 1% of the plan, BelTA was told in the main crop-growing department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Foodstuffs. The Brest oblast has prepared around 10% of the areas to be sown with crops, Gomel – 2.9%, Grodno – 2.6%, Minsk around 1%, Mogilev – 1% as well. the Vitebsk oblast is just getting down to work. Despite cool weather and night frosts expected this week, the companies continue actively preparing for the sowing campaign. At the same time the regions take a cautious approach as to the sowing of spring crops. Specialists note that if the cold weather persists, the crops will be thinned out”. On the other hand the moisture on loamy soil evaporates quickly. So farmers have to take a risk by sowing early. The large-scale campaign in Belarus will start when the weather gets warmer but not later than March 24. According to the weather forecast, the weather will become warmer next week. The agricultural producers will start sowing grain-crops when the soil warms up to 5 degree Centigrade 5cm down. The ministry noted that some 30.4 million tonnes of organic fertilizers were applied in the fields, against the planned 35.4 million tonnes. The Gomel oblast has met the target, the Brest and Minsk oblasts – by 95% apiece. The oblasts continue mineral feeding of winter grain and rape fields, perennial plants, hayfields and pastures. As of March 17, the oblasts added fertilizers to 174.7 thousand hectares of winter grain, almost 12% to the plan (4.4% of the winter grain fields at the same time last year). Almost 51.6 thousand hectares of winter rape got fertilized, 17.4% of the plan (7.6% at the same time 2007). The Brest oblast added fertilizers to the two thirds of the winter rape fields. Perennial plants got mineral fertilizers at 110 thousand hectares, 19% of the plan, hayfields and pastures – at 167.6 thousand hectares, 12.2%. According to the specialists, in 2007, this work was completed earlier due to the warm weather. In 2008 the situation is different and the oblasts need to use mineral fertilizers rationally.