During the reporting period, maize was harvested in late September and early October, and winter wheat was planted in October. The CropWatch Agroclimatic Indicators (CWAIs) show that the weather conditions in this region were close to the 15YA: Rainfall (RAIN) exceeded the average by 1%, temperature (TEMP) was below average by 0.7°C, and radiation (RADPAR) dropped by 6%. The potential biomass (BIOMSS) was 9% below average as a result of reduced radiation and lower temperature. 

According to the regional NDVI development graph, crops started maturing from August to early September, after which they were harvested from mid-September until the end of the monitoring period. The overall crop conditions were slightly above or close to the 5-year average from July to September.

In most of the region, spatial patterns of NDVI departure clustering and the profiles show that the crop conditions were slightly above the five-year average from July to September. About 9.6% of the cropped area was below the 5-year average in October, which occurred mainly in the northwest of Henan province, and the south of Shannxi and Ningxia. The Maximum VCI map shows high values of VCIx (0.98) in most cropped areas of the region. Almost 99% of the farmland was cultivated according to CALF (+4%) as compared to the 5YA, showing favorable crop prospects for this region.

Figure 4.14 Crop condition China Loess region, July - October 2020

（a）Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

（b）Time series rainfall profile

（c） Time-series temperature profile

（d） Spatial distribution of NDVI profiles

（e） Maximum VCI

（f） Potential biomass departure from 5YA