How to sow - so the harvest: Critical sowing conditions in large parts of Europe In its Oct. 18 issue, the Agricultural Meteorological Institute of the EU Commission (MARS) evaluated the climate data with regard to sowing and emergence conditions. In many parts of Europe, sowing time started in unusually dry conditions. The areas with precipitation deficit to pronounced severe drought ranging from France to Germany and Poland far into Russia. The moisture conditions are not uniform, depending on where intermediate rain showers are passing in different strength. The Central and Eastern European countries are particularly hard hit.In the Scandinavian and Baltic states, however , sowing took place in September under comparatively favorable conditions. In Portugal and Spain , too, there are prospects of favorable order conditions, because precipitation fell in a timely manner in October. Particularly affected by the lack of rainfall was rapeseed . Basically, the sowing was not at the optimal time, but later in September. Several rapeseed areas were broken because of insufficient rising and ordered some punches again. It can be assumed that the areas for the less productive summer sows will increase significantly.For late-sowing cereals and varieties such as winter wheat, there is hope for rains still to come. Overall, however, the moisture reserve in the soil in wide regions is not optimal. One must already hope for high winter precipitation, so that the water requirement at the beginning of the growing season with high evaporation rates is sufficient. How the harvest will actually fail in the coming year remains open, because a large number of influencing factors still influence the yield. But the unfavorable start to the new period suggests that record harvests probably excludeare.