Situation/weather: After having faced a long drought period with strong water shortage, rains are back at the worst possible time as we are starting harvest period. Rainfalls are delaying the harvest process as the soil became muddy and the combine needs to adjust their speed rotation to avoid losses in yield. Meanwhile, humidity of grains is going down quickly and we are currently already in a range of 20 to 23% which is an indication of attaining physiological maturity.

Production: on 11/01/21, we began to harvest our 1^st block (Block G – 538 has).  So far, we have harvested 50 has and got a preliminary yield of 6.5 t/ha with an index quality between 50 and 54 entire grain. We are expecting lower yields for the remaining surface as the plots suffered more for water shortage.

Correct timing at harvest is essential to avoid losses incurred by harvesting too soon or too late. Immature grains harvested too early result in a high percentage of broken and low milling recovery, while if harvesting is delayed; the crop is exposed to insects, rodents and birds, in addition to the risks of lodging and shattering.

However, water stress recorded over the past months affected the grain development in its germination period and in its blooming stage (unfilled grains). The situation is irreversible.

As for our 2^nd block of sowing (427 has), the production has suffered the most from the drought and we are going to evaluate the fact if its worth or not to harvest the entire block. The situation is very complex this year and it’s going to be a bad season for all producers.