Recent rains help Argentina's corn and soybean crops remain in mostly good conditions, but more precipitation is needed to avoid serious losses.
Weather conditions have been uneven across the country's agricultural areas, with parts of Buenos Aires and Cordoba provinces receiving only sporadic rainfall over the past week, according to the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (SAGyP). The Santa Fe province benefited from more steady precipitation.
Corn in both Buenos Aires and Cordoba are showing the impact of the hot, dry weather. Yields in some areas of Cordoba's early corn crops could face significant cuts because of the lack of rain, SAGyP said. The corn in Santa Fe is in better conditions, and while leafhoppers have been reported in some parts of the province, the outbreak is manageable, the SAGyP said.
Early-planted soybeans in Buenos Aires and Cordoba are mostly in good shape, though there has been some loss of flowers, according to SAGyP. Unfavorable weather has limited the development of late soybeans in both provinces, although they could still recover with enough rain.
Soybeans in Santa Fe are in better shape than in other areas, with early soybeans benefiting from plentiful rain in the province's north and with favorable soil moisture conditions in the south, SAGyP said.
Planting almost finished
Sowing of soybeans advanced by 3.3 percentage points in the week through 28 January to reach 99.5pc complete, according to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange (Bage).
Nearly 84pc of the crop is in normal-to-good condition, down by 2.3 percentage points from the previous week, while the area with adequate-to-optimal soil moisture declined by 2.6 percentage points to 64pc.
Corn planting reached just over 97pc finished after progress of 4.1pc in the week, Bage said. Almost 83pc of early corn is in normal-to-good condition, with just over 88pc of late corn in the same condition.
