WINTER WHEAT FIELDS WERE NOT DAMAGED BY FROST
KarabakhOpen
18-03-2008 11:04:36
The winter wheat fields were not damaged by frost. Moreover, abundant
precipitation was useful, and the frost was not so severe to damage
the crop. "18 degrees below zero is considered as critical, whereas
the temperature did not drop lower than 15 below zero. In this sense,
the effect of the frost was positive rather than negative, except for
crops sown later," said the deputy minister of agriculture Vladimir
Zakiyan in an interview with the Azat Artsakh.
Vladimir Zakiyan says the total area of wheat fields is 32 thousand
hectares compared with last year’s 47 thousand hectares. "Due to
one-crop farming the soil is impoverished and needs reanimation. It
is possible through fertilizers or crop rotation," says the minister
of agriculture.
Vladimir Zakiyan says assistance is provided to land owners who let
their land lie fallow. The best season for this is fall but because
of weather and some other circumstances, this season was prolonged.
The government has already allocated 149 million drams for assistance.
Assistance will be provided in two stages: 15 thousand drams per
hectare after tillage and 20 thousand drams after cultivation.
The frost damaged vineyards. "Some sprigs on vines froze, some were
not damaged," said Vladimir Zakiyan. According to the deputy minister
of agriculture, about 30 to 35 percent of vineyards were damaged by
frost. Part of fig and quinsy trees was also damaged.