After ramping up sharply in August, abnormal dryness and drought across southern Ontario did not get any better in September.
In fact, conditions have likely deteriorated further, with precipitation over the past 30 days well below normal all the way from Windsor in the west to the Ontario-Quebec border in the east, as shown on the map below. Meanwhile, all of southern Ontario saw above normal temperatures over the past month as well.
The dry conditions have allowed the soybean harvest and winter wheat planting to advance quickly, although the latest field observations from Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) noted that corn plants that have turned brown may have succumbed to an early death due to drought and heat stress. Similarly, higher temperatures and dry weather have led to quicker soybean seed maturity and drydown, resulting in earlier full plant death.
Overall, it was an extremely dry growing season for eastern and central Ontario as well as the Niagara region and parts of west-central Ontario. The deep southwest fared relatively better, although still not without some dry weather impacts.
According to the Canadian Drought Monitor, 84% of agricultural land in the Central Region – which includes both Ontario and Quebec – was classified as abnormally dry or in some form of drought as of the end of August. That compares to just 34% in July, 20% in June, and a mere 1% in May. The September update of the drought monitor should be released in the coming days.
Source : Syngenta.ca