Generally average agroclimatic conditions were observed in the South American MPZ from April to July. Figure 2.3 summarizes the CropWatch agroclimatic and agronomic indicators for the area.

For the MPZ as a whole, rainfall was close to average (RAIN, +6%), but departures were significant for temperature (TEMP, +1.7C) and radiation (RADPAR, -4%). Estimated BIOMSS was 17% below the recent five-year average level. According to the rainfall departure clusters and graphs, rainfall departures fluctuated during the monitoring period. An excess of 50 mm of rainfall was observed in mid-July in the states of Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul, and close to 100 mm at the end of April in Mato Grosso do Sul. After relatively cold conditions from the end of April to June, temperature reached 2 degrees above average by the end of July. As a result of these continuously low temperatures from April to the end of June and a shortage of rainfall, vast areas in the northern part of the MPZ show well below average BIOMSS. The minimum VHI map indicates water stress (with VHIn below 0.35) in Goias, Mato Grosso, and Minas Gerais, mainly due to high temperature. The cropped arable land fraction (CALF) for the MPZ was 90% but still 5 percentage points below the five-year average. Most of the uncropped arable land is located in the Argentinian areas of southern Cordoba, southern Santa Fe, and northwestern Buenos Aires, which is one of the major wheat producing areas. Due to the high domestic price—according to national data—it is possible that farmers are still planting winter wheat where weather conditions permit. Average VCIx was 0.77 for the MPZ, with lower values in San Luis, Cordoba, and La Pampa. However, the regions with low VCIx do not coincide with the regions where VHIn is below 0.35, which means that the poor condition is not due to drought. The low VCIx in Argentina mainly resulted from the post-harvest status of the fields.

a.  Spatial distribution of rainfall profiles                                           b. Profiles of rainfall departure from average (mm)

c. Spatial distribution of temperature profiles                                                d. Profiles of temperature departure from average (°C)

e. Maximum VCI                                                                                        f. Cropped and uncropped arable land

g. Biomass accumulation potential departure                                       h. VHI minimum