No crops are cultivated in northeast China from January to mid-April. Maize and soybean sowing both start in late April only. CropWatchagro climatic indicators show markedly above average temperature (+1.6°C)compared with average; on the contrary, rainfall and PAR show a slight decrease by 2% and 1%, respectively. Abundant snow over the last winter ensured good soil moisture, which will benefit spring crops in 2015.

Figure4.6. Crop condition China Northeast region, January-April 2015

 (a) Crop condition development graph based onNDVI