During this monitoring period, the harvest of summer crops was mostly completed by the end of October, whereas the sowing of canola and winter wheat had started in September. Based on the agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, the crop conditions in Germany were generally above the 5-year average between July and early October in most regions, and then below average in mid-October.

At the national level, total precipitation was significantly above average (RAIN +21%), temperature was below average (TEMP -0.7°C) and radiation was also below average (RADPAR -4%). As can be seen from the time series of the rainfall profile, Germany experienced above-average precipitation from July to August, and then significantly below-average precipitation from September to October. Most of the country experienced cooler-than-usual conditions during this reporting period, except for September. Benefitting from adequate moisture conditions early in the summer growing season, the biomass accumulation potential (BIOMSS) was increased by 8% at the nationwide level as compared to the 15YA. Due to persistent and significantly precipitation deficits from September to October in some regions, grain filling for the summer crops may have been negatively impacted. On the other hand, this provided good conditions for harvest of the summer crops. This persistent precipitation deficit may also result in the delayed emergence of winter crops.

As shown by the NDVI development graph at the national scale,  NDVI values were above average, even close to the 5-year maximum level from early July to early October, and then below average in mid-October.  These observations are confirmed by the spatial NDVI profiles.  Before mid-August, crop conditions were above average on 81.9% of the cropland. The proportion of cropland with above-average conditions was up to 87.2% from mid-August to mid-September.  Due to persistent precipitation deficits starting in September, only 56.4% of the cropland from mid-September to mid-October and 39.2% of the cropland after mid-October were above average. These observations were also confirmed by higher VCI values in the spatial distribution of maximum VCI map. It reached 0.99 at the national scale. CALF during the reporting period was the same as for the recent five-year average.

Generally, the agronomic indicators show favorable conditions for most summer crops in Germany. Persistently and significantly below-average precipitation in October may have delayed the germination of winter wheat in the north and east of the country.

Regional analysis

Based on cropping systems, climatic zones, and topographic conditions, six sub-national agro-ecological regions are adopted for Germany. They include: the Wheat Zone of Schleswig-Holstein and the Baltic coast, Mixed Wheat and Sugar beet Zone of the Northwest, Central Wheat Zone of Saxony and Thuringia, Sparse Crop Area of the East-German Lake and Heathland area, Western Sparse Crop Area of the Rhenish Massif and the Bavarian Plateau.  

According to the CropWatch agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, three sub-national agro-ecological regions, i.e., Wheat Zone of Schleswig-Holstein and the Baltic coast, Mixed Wheat and Sugar beet Zone of the North-west and western sparse crop area of the Rhenish massif   experienced the same trend of  precipitation, temperature and RADPAR, where precipitation was all significantly above average between +21% and +32%, temperature was all below average between -0.2°C and -0.8°C, PAR was all below average between -3% and -6% as compared to the average of the past 15 years. Since precipitation was above average during the entire monitoring period, the biomass accumulation potential (BIOMSS) in these three sub-national agro-ecological regions was above average between +8% and +19%. As shown by the time series rainfall profile of each agro-ecological region, precipitation in these three regions was also significantly above average from July to August, and close to average after mid-October. This provided favorable conditions for the growth of summer crops and establishment of the winter crops. As shown in the crop condition development graph based on NDVI, NDVI values were all above average, even close to the 5-year maximum level throughout the monitoring period.  CALF of these three regions all reached 100%, with a zero departure from their 5YA. The cropping intensity (CI) of these three regions was all above the 5YA between +9% and +27%, and these three regions also recorded favorable VCIx value from 0.96 to 1.02, which indicates a high cropping intensity and favorable conditions for most summer crops.

The other three sub-national agro-ecological regions of Central Wheat Zone of Saxony and Thuringia, Sparse Crop Area of the East-German Lake and Heathland area and Bavarian Plateau also experienced above-average  precipitation, ranging from +15% and +19%. Temperature was below average between -0.7°C and -0.9°C and PAR was also below average between -2% and -5% compared to the 15YA. As shown by the time series rainfall profile of each agro-ecological regions, precipitation in these three regions and the biomass accumulation potential (BIOMSS) were also above average between +1 % and +5% during entire monitoring period. But the magnitude of increased BIOMSS was significantly lower than in the other three sub-regions. Due to persistent and significant precipitation deficits from September to October, grain filling for the summer crops in these three regions was negatively impacted. The persistent precipitation deficit may have affected the establishment of the winter crops. As shown in the crop condition development graph based on NDVI, NDVI values were all above average, even close to or exceeding the 5-year maximum level from early July to early October, and then below average in mid-October, presumably due to persistent precipitation deficits. CALF of these three regions all reached 100%, with a zero departure from their 5YA. The cropping intensity (CI) of these three regions was above the 5YA between +9% and +14%, and these three regions also recorded favorable VCIx value from 0.97 to 0.99.

Figure 3.13. Germany’s crop condition, July-October 2021

Figure 3.13a. Phenology of major crops in Germany

Figure 3.13b. Crop condition development graph based on NDVI, comparing the July-October 2021 period to the previous season and the five-year average (5YA) and maximum

Figure 3.13c. Maximum VCI for the July-October 2021 period

Figure 3.13d. Spatial NDVI patterns for Germany up to October 2021 according to local cropping patterns and as compared to the 5YA (left) and (e) associated NDVI profiles (right)

Figure 3.13e. Proportion of NDVI anomaly categories compared with 5YA in Germany

Figure 3.13f. Proportion of VHIn categories compared with 5YA in Germany

Figure 3.13g. Time series rainfall profile (left) and temperature profile (right) of Germany comparing the July-October 2021 period to the previous season and the five-year average (5YA) and maximum

Figure 3.13h. Wheat zone of Schleswig-Holstein and the Baltic Coast crop condition development graph based on NDVI (left), time series rainfall profiles (middle) and temperature (right)

Figure 3.13i. Mixed wheat and sugarbeets zone of the north-west crop condition development graph based on NDVI (left), time series rainfall profiles (middle) and temperature (right)

Figure 3.13j. Central wheat zone of Saxony and Thuringia crop condition development graph based on NDVI (left), time series rainfall profiles (middle) and temperature (right)

Figure 3.13k. East-German lake and Heathland sparse crop area crop condition development graph based on NDVI (left), time series rainfall profile (middle) and  temperature (right)

Figure 3.13l. Western sparse crop area of the Rhenish massif crop condition development graph based on NDVI (left), time series rainfall profile (middle) and temperature (right)

Figure 3.13m. Bavarian Plateau crop condition development graph based on NDVI (left), time series rainfall profile (middle) and temperature (right)

Table 3.17. Germany agro-climatic indicators by sub-national regions, current season's values and departure from 15YA,  July-October 2021

Table 3.18. Germany agronomic indicators by sub-national regions, current season's value and departure from 5YA,  July-October 2021