The rain that fell during the last few days had beneficial effects on crops, but also caused damage where it was in exceeds and was accompanied by high winds and hail. Measures should be taken to fight pests so as to prevent plant disease and agricultural losses.

Contacted by IPN for a comment, Mihai Rapcea, vice director of the Scientific-Practical Institute of Horticulture and Food Technology, said the hail damaged the crops, but the rain was beneficial to spring crops, such as corn, sunflower and wheat, and helped the vegetables to develop.

Mihail Vronschih, division head at the Research Institute for Field Crops “Selecția”, has told IPN that the measures that should be taken to remedy the long-term effects where there was excessive rain are more important. The precipitation was twice larger than the annual norms and this is good, but there were places where the amount of rain was four or more times larger and caused damage.

“For example, in the case of wheat or sunflower, harvesting will be more difficult. Measures should be taken first to remove weeds that multiplied because of rain. In the absence of such measures, the harvest will be lower and of a poorer quality,” stated Mihail Vronskih.

The barley or wheat could bow and harvesting will be thus impossible. “The corn and beef are in the best state,” noted Mihai Vronskih. The large quantity of precipitation could cause plant disease and measures should be thus taken to treat the crops with  fungicides or considerable losses will be sustained.

During the past week, the State Weather Service issued a number of yellow code advisories for bad weather in parts of Moldova, determined by torrential rain with hail. Heavy rainfall with hail, thunder and lighting was forecast for June 7 as well.