Romania presented average crop condition over the reporting period,with an overall maximum VCI index of 0.77. NDVI showed a sharp drop inmid-January during the dormancy period of winter wheat, also resulting in adrop in the fraction of cropped arable land (CALF) of 1 percentage points.Overall, temperature (TEMP) was slightly below average (-0.4°C), while therainfall (RAIN) anomaly was +33% and radiation about average (RADPAR, +1%). Thebiomass production potential was above average (BIOMSS, +12%).

As shown in the nationwide crop condition development graph, NDVIwas below the five-year average before March, with the lowest NDVI (below 0.05)happening in January, after which values again became rather close to average.In most parts of middle Romania near Targu Mures, crop condition was average(VCIx values of 0.5-0.8), while in the northeast (for example in Lasi) aboveaverage crop conditions were experienced (VCIx values near or above 0.8). Incontrast, southern regions around Bucharest had below average VCIx values, withvalues close to or below 0.5.

As for crop condition development during the monitoring period, theNDVI profiles linked to the NDVI spatial patterns show that crop condition wentdown in northeastern Romania (including Suceava), while it partly went up inthe southeast border area. Most parts of the west and middle of the countryonly experienced slight changes in condition, while in some southern regions(Craiova, Ciurgiu, and Olenita) an improvement in crop condition was recordedafter mid-February.

Overall, crop condition is favorable in Romania for both pastwinter crops and summer crops as a result of abundant soil moisture.

Figure3.26. Romania crop condition, January-April2017

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI        (b) Maximum VCI 

(c) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA                       (d) NDVI profiles