The main crops present in the field during April–July in the Ukraine are barley and maize. Irrigated crops (paddy, vegetables, sunflower, potatoes, pulses, and sugar beet) occur mostly in the south, in the Oblasts of Kherson, Crimea, and Doentsk, as well as in Zaporizhia. While winter crops are harvested in July and August, the harvest of spring crops takes place after August and as late as October for maize.

Agroclimatic conditions were average over the reporting period (RAIN, +3.0%; RADPAR, -1%; TEMP, +0.0°C). As illustrated in the section on the Central Europe to Western Russia MPZ (chapter 2.7), the increase in biomass potential (as described by BIOMSS) is large (>20%) in the northeast part of the country along the Russian border. Limited parts of west, north, central, and southeastern Ukraine have negative to low positive biomass anomalies (<-20% to +10%). Most parts of the country enjoyed favorable conditions: at the national level, a biomass increase (+9%) is expected. According to the national NDVI profile, crop condition in Ukraine is close to the reference five-year average with an average maximum VCI index of 0.95.

Altogether, the production of 2016 spring crops is expected to be slightly below that of last year (2015). With the cropped arable land fraction (CALF) remaining stable, an average season is expected.

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

(b) Maximum VCI

(c) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA

(d) NDVI profiles