Seedlings of cucumbers, tomatoes, and cabbage froze on 200 hectares of fields in Kropyvnytskyi district. This happened due to frosts on April 27 and 28, when the temperature on the surface of the soil in Kirovohrad region dropped to 7 degrees below zero, according to Suspilne.Kropyvnytskyi.
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As the head of the regional department of agricultural development Valeriya Furmanova reported, data on frozen seedlings in the rest of the region are currently being collected.
“Mostly the vegetable gardens grown on household plots froze. We have projected sowing areas of 60 thousand hectares, including potatoes, vegetables, and melons. 90% of the area belongs to household plots,” said the official.
Farmer Hennadiy Taktarov has been growing vegetables in the fields of Kropyvnytskyi district for the third year. In his farm, a third of the planted tomatoes froze after the frosts.
“We planted them last week. It was warm, we hoped for good weather, but there was frost, and over half a hectare of tomatoes perished,” he said.
Among the frozen plants were those covered with agrofiber, which is supposed to protect the plants from frost and sun.
“We covered half a hectare with agrofiber – it didn’t help much. 50% perished. We will calculate the losses and move on from there, but we will still plant and replant,” lamented the farmer.
All the planted cucumbers, nearly half a hectare, according to Hennadiy Taktarov, were covered with agrofiber and withstood the frosts on April 27-28.
“Cucumbers are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations, that’s why we covered them with fiber. They survived because they are higher in the area. But the tomatoes, covered and lower, suffered worse,” he added.
The cabbage in this farm survived the frosts. They didn’t even cover it, said the farmer, because they planted an early hybrid, which is more resistant to low temperatures.
According to the calculations of the farmer from the village of Karlivka in Kropyvnytskyi district, Oleksandr Shepelenko, 10 thousand cucumbers froze in his fields. They will plant other crops instead.
“We had frosts. Despite our maximum preparation, covering all the crops planted in open ground with tunnels, it didn’t save us. Part of the potatoes also froze. We planted nearly a hectare of them. In total, we lost about 20% of the crops from open ground. There’s nothing you can do, it’s the weather conditions. It’s a risky business,” said the farmer.
The experience of previous years emphasizes that in Kirovohrad region, it is better to plant vegetables in May, explained Mykola Kovalov, an associate professor at the Department of Agriculture of the Central Ukrainian National Technical University.
“Lately, we have had specific temperature increases in early spring and mid-spring, which are short-lived and unstable. Therefore, to ensure a stable and high yield, it is necessary to adhere to proper agricultural techniques and crop care,” said the scientist.