The crops in Germany showed below-average toabove-average conditions (according to areas) during the reporting periodfrom October 2015 to January 2016. This time period covers the late stages ofsugar beets (October harvest) and early vegetative stages of winter wheat andwinter barley (planted in October).

The Crop Watch agroclimatic indicators showabove average rainfall and temperature (+3% and +1.7°C), and a 7% decrease inradiation. With positive moisture and thermal anomalies, biomass is expected toincrease by 4% nationwide compared to the five-year average. 

As shown by the crop condition developmentgraph, national NDVI values were below average from October to early Novemberdue to lack of rainfall. National NDVI values started well above averageand came close to the five-year maximum from mid-November to January,which is consistent with sufficient rainfall and suitable temperaturesduring this period. The spatial NDVI patterns also indicate that NDVI was aboveaverage from mid-November to January in 58.3% of arable land. This spatialpattern is also reflected by the maximum VCI in the different areas, with aVCIx of 0.93 for Germany overall. Generally, due to the suitable temperatureand moisture conditions after mid-November, the agronomic indicators mentionedabove indicate a favorable condition for most winter crop areas of Germany atthe moment. Crops are nevertheless still vulnerable and the coming months mayresult in increased winter death due to poor hardening

Figure3.10. Germany crop condition, October2015-January 2016