
MINSK, 18 March (BelTA) - Early spring grain and leguminous crops have been sown on an area of 44,000 hectares in Belarus, BelTA learned from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
Early spring grain and leguminous crops (excluding corn, buckwheat and millet) were sown on an area of 44,000 hectares, which is 7.26% of the plan. The regional breakdown is the following: crops were sown on an area of 20,900 hectares in Brest Oblast, 280 hectares in Vitebsk Oblast, 3,480 hectares in Gomel Oblast, 16,600 hectares in Grodno Oblast, 1,770 hectares in Minsk Oblast, and 950 hectares in Mogilev Oblast.
Soil plowing was done on 134,200 hectares, which is 20.4% of the plan. A total of 137,400 hectares of land was prepared for sowing early spring crops, which is 22.7% of the plan. Fertilizing is also underway: winter grains were fertilized on an area of 911,900 hectares (60.7% of the plan), winter rapeseed - 297,500 hectares (67% of the plan). As of 18 March, a total of 773,800 tonnes of active ingredients of mineral fertilizers were accumulated, which is 66.3% of the plan.
The current pace of moisture retention work in the fields exceeds last year's. As of 18 March, the work was completed on an area of 439,600 hectares, or 26.6% of the plan. Liming of acidic soils is also underway: it has been carried out on an area of 37,300 hectares, or 15% of the plan. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, dolomite powder is essential for neutralizing excessive soil acidity and maintaining an optimal soil environment.
The annual orchard clearing plan has been overfulfilled, with work completed on an area of over 1,500 hectares.