Crop report - May 2007 (Saaz area)

1. Basic weather conditions datas

temperature °C

rainfalls mm

Dry weather continued till 7. 5. and first rainfalls came in period 8.5. - 10.5. when it was 8,9 mm. Second and third decade was richer for rainfalls /about longterm average/ The rainfalls have had mostly thunderstorms character and that is why are big local differences in its volume ( between 10 and 30 mm). Locally hails apperaed, it did not cause bigger damages. As far as temperatures concern it was over longterm average./for 2,4°C/.

2. Vegetation development

Because of April s weather development is vegaetation roughly 10 days ahead. That is why started training of Saaz variety already at the beginning of May. The training was finished in optimal terms and quality. Because ofc rainfalls in second and third decade of May is nessesary to treat hops against downy mildew. Hop aphids had appeered in third decade in such high concentrations, that was nessesary to use spraying against these pests. Warm and dry weather during spring created even appearence of red spider, that is why the spraying by Nissorun 10 WP will be nessesary also. The hops are at the moment in good stage and height is very often higher than usual average. Some hopgardens reached by the end of May already over 4 m. Approximatelly 36 ha of hopgardens in south part of Saaz area was damaged by hails at the end of second decade of May- these are villages Kounov, Mutějovice and Lhota pod Džbánem.