As of March 21, 2023, most of the winter wheat in the northern region is in the jointing stage, while the Jianghuai and Jianghan regions are in the jointing to heading stage, and the southwestern region is generally in the heading to flowering stage. Overall, the growth of winter wheat in the main production areas is better than the average level of the past five years.

Before the wintering period (late October to November), most winter wheat areas had higher temperatures, sufficient precipitation, and suitable soil moisture. And most winter wheat had already formed strong seedlings before the arrival of winter. However, since the winter, the northern winter wheat areas have been frequently affected by cold air, resulting in frost damage in areas such as Hebei, Shandong, Henan, northern Jiangsu, and northern Anhui. In February 2023, the northern winter wheat areas experienced several large-scale precipitation processes, and suitable soil moisture was conducive to the successive greening of winter wheat in the north, and the condition of winter wheat after greening was good. Overall, the crops in some areas such as northern Shandong, southern Hubei, and northern Jiangsu were slightly affected by frost damage or regional lack of precipitation, with slightly deviated growth, while the crops in other areas showed favorable condition.

Figure 1: NDVI departure from 5 years average (2023.3.06 - 2023.3.21)