Farmers had to start reaping the sugar beet before time owing to the high temperatures and drought of August. However, according to the forecasts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, there will be harvested by over 300,000 tonnes of sugar beet more than last year, IPN reports.
“The harvest began earlier because we entered a period of drought. When there is no water, the sugar beet consumes its own reserves and we may lose the crop. The percentage of sugar and the weight are not the desired ones, but the sugar beet is yet in a good state,” said Minister of Agriculture Vasile Bumacov. He added that the weather forecasts also made the farmers start the harvest.
The sugar beet crop this year is projected to total about 900,000 tonnes, while productivity will be 30-36 tonnes per hectare. Last year the crop was 600,000 tonnes.
