China

In May, most of the winter wheat in North China and Huanghuai is in the stage of milk ripening to maturity, with some beginning to harvest. Jianghuai, Jianghan, and southern Henan are in the stage of milk ripening to maturity, with the southwest region basically completing the harvest, most of the harvest in Hubei, and sporadic harvests in Jiangsu and Anhui.

The winter wheat area was affected by cold air in the early stage, with the average temperature lower than in previous years, and the temperature quickly rebounded in the middle of the year. The temperatures in the central northern part of Northeast China, the southern part of Southwest China, and the southwestern part of South China are higher than the same period in previous years, while the temperatures in other agricultural areas are close to the average or slightly lower. Most winter wheat areas have good soil moisture, providing a favorable environment for the final yield formation of wheat. Remote sensing monitoring shows that wheat is growing well, with crops in Henan, southern Hebei, central Jiangsu, and other areas showing significantly better condition than in previous years, while other areas are close to the average.

At the end of the month, continuous overcast rain occurred in central and southern Shaanxi, most of Henan, northern and western Hubei, and other areas, which had a negative impact on the harvest and drying of mature wheat. The strong rainfall also caused spot lodging of wheat, increasing the difficulty of machine harvesting, and some wheat showed mold and germination.

Figure 1: NDVI departure from 5 years average (2023.5.09 - 2023.5.24)