The monitoring period covers the harvest of spring and winter wheat in July and August, as well as the main growth period of maize and its harvest in September and October. The planting of the new winter crops started in September. During this monitoring period, the agroclimatic conditions were close to the average and the crop growth was normal, but the yield of winter wheat, a summer crop, may be slightly below average due to the high temperatures and drought that affected the crops during the grain filling period, while the yield of maize can be expected to reach normal levels. Compared with the average of last 15 years, the national scale precipitation was 4% higher, temperature and photosynthetic effective radiation were slightly lower by 0.2℃ and 3%, respectively, and the potential biomass was close to the average. Furthermore, CALF was up to 100% and VCIx was 0.94.

As shown by the graph, crop growth was close to average in July-August, reached the highest level in the past 5 years in early September, dropped back to the average level thereafter, and went below average in late October, which may be related to some delay in crop harvesting and sowing for the next season. This is also reflected in the temporal distribution of rainfall, which was above the highest level of last 15 years in early and late August. Overall, crop growth appears to be near average levels. The distribution map of VCIx shows that the vast majority of cultivated areas were above 0.8, and areas between 0.5 and 0.8 are only sporadically distributed in the eastern and central-western parts of the country. The crop clustering map shows that in all regions, NDVI was below average in October, which might have  been due to delayed harvest of the summer crops because of wet conditions in September. They were followed by drier-than-normal conditions in October, which might have delayed germination of the winter crops. The maps show that 27% of the crops were above average during the monitoring period, mainly in the central and southern regions, 14.9% of the crops were consistently below the average for the same period, mainly in the northern regions, and 2.2% of the areas were significantly below average in late September and then recovered to the average. This may have been influenced by short term rainfall and flooding, mainly in the northwest.

Overall, crop growth in Poland seems to be normal, with harvested crop yields only slightly below average and average conditions for growing winter wheat.

Regional analysis

CropWatch sub-divides Poland into four zones according to the agro-ecological and farming characteristics, including: (a) the Northern oats and potatoes area covering the northern half of West Pomerania, eastern Pomerania and Warmia-Masuria; (b) the Northern-central wheat and sugar-beet area (Kuyavia-Pomerania to the Baltic Sea); (c) the Central rye and potatoes area (Lubusz to South Podlaskie and northern Lublin), and (d) the Southern wheat and sugar-beet area (Southern Lower Silesia to southern Lublin and Sub-carpathia along the Czech and Slovak borders).

Compared to the average of the last 15 years, precipitation in the Northern oats and potatoes area was 3% higher, temperature was close to average, RADPAR was 5% lower, and BIOMSS was 3% higher benefiting from abundant precipitation. CALF was 100% and VCIx was 0.92. The crop growth curve shows that the crop growth was below average from July to early August due to the early drought and recovered to the average level from late August to September as the precipitation increased in August. But the precipitation in August-September also delayed the crop harvest and the sowing of the next season. The NDVI in October was significantly lower than the average level in the same period. Overall, crop growth appears normal and yields may be slightly below average. In addition, the CI for the year was only 90%, which is 12% lower than average. 

In the Northern-central wheat and sugar-beet area, precipitation was 2% above average, temperature was on par with previous years, RADPAR was 4% below average, and BIOMSS was near the average of the last 15 years. The percentage of cultivated land was 100% and VCIx was 0.89. The crop was affected by high temperature and low precipitation in July, from near average in July to below average in early August, and recovered with the recharge of sufficient precipitation in August, even above average in early September, and declined to average thereafter and a low NDVI in October. Overall, crop growth was normal, but crop yield was below average due to the impact of the early drought and high temperature. CI of this sub-district was 97%, 8% lower than the average, and the annual crop planting was lower than in previous years.

Compared with the average of the last 15 years, in the Central rye and potatoes area, precipitation was 6% higher, temperature was 0.2°C lower, RADPAR was 3% lower, and BIOMSS was flat. CALF was 100% and VCIx was 0.94. The crop growth in the zone was consistently above average, especially from late August to early September, and the NDVI was higher than the highest level of the last 5 years. NDVI was significantly lower in October. Overall, the crop growth was normal and the crop yield was close to the average. CI of this sub-district was 106%, which was slightly lower by 2% compared to the average.

In the Southern wheat and sugar-beet area, precipitation was 4% higher, temperature was 0.4°C lower, RADPAR was 1% lower, and BIOMSS was 1% lower. CALF was 100% and VCIx was 0.97. The crop growth in this sub-region was consistently above average, especially from August to early September, when the NDVI was higher than the highest level of the last 5 years, and similarly, the NDVI in October was significantly lower than the average level due to the delay in phenology. Overall, the crop growth was normal and the yield was stable. CI of this sub-district was 133%, which was 26% higher than the average.

图.X Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

图.X Time series rainfall pofile

图.X Time series temperature profile

图.X Maximum VCI

图.X Spatial distribution of NDVI profiles

图.X 开始编辑

图.X Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

图.X Time series rainfall pofile

图.X Time series temperature profile

图.X Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

图.X Time series rainfall profile

图.X Time series temperature profile

图.X Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

图.X Time series rainfall pofile

图.X Time series temperature profile

图.X Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

图.X Time series rainfall profile

图.X Time series temperature profile

Table 3.61. Poland agroclimatic indicators by agro-ecological region, current season's values and departure from 15YA, July-October 2021

Table 3.62. Poland agronomic indicators by agro-ecological region, current season's values and departure from 5YA, July - October 2021