What should be paid attention to in agriculture when temperatures rise sharply?

On July 17-22 of this year, due to the entry of a warm air stream from Iran through Turkmenistan into the territory of Uzbekistan, Uzgidromet issued an urgent warning about a sharp increase in daytime air temperatures and intensification of winds with dust in some places. In this regard, specialists from the relevant departments of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan and research institutes provided information and relevant recommendations on the impact of such weather conditions on the production of agricultural products.

It is necessary to take a serious approach to cotton agrotechnology

High air temperatures negatively affect cotton care, causing it to become stressed. At such times, clusters, farm managers, mechanizers and workers, industry specialists, and scientists are required to take an extremely proactive approach to ensuring that cotton is not damaged by scorching heat and frost and to preserve the resulting crop.

To prevent negative consequences, it is recommended to implement the following measures:

Firstly, during this period, all sectors of the regions and districts will form “headquarters” in their territories consisting of industry specialists, experienced farmers and employees of responsible organizations. 

These headquarters will be on duty around the clock, and farm managers, mechanizers, workers and watermen should fully move to the fields. 

Secondly, after each irrigation, as the soil matures, gentle cultivation will be carried out in the morning and evening hours, without creating lumps, with cultivators folded in a “fishtail” pattern. 

Otherwise, the soil surface will crack, plant roots will be damaged, the likelihood of wilting will increase, and crop elements will be shed, negatively affecting growth and development.

In this case, it is necessary to create all conditions for mechanizers in the field, organize their rest in the evening and during the hot hours of the day. 

Thirdly, all available sprayers (OVX-600, VP-1, Appolon with a bar) will be systematically organized to work in a squad from 19:00 to 7:00 in the morning. In this case, it is recommended to treat cotton only with stimulants and microfertilizers. 

Fourthly, all equipment in the regions and districts will be systematically mobilized for local fertilizer accumulation and fecal excretion. Local fertilizers accumulated in farms specializing in livestock, poultry and sheep breeding in the regions will be taken to irrigated fields. 

Fifthly, “headquarters” will be established in the areas for the correct distribution and monitoring of water, and a system of effective use of available water will be established. Water staffs are personally responsible for the timely delivery of water to cotton, secondary crops and homesteads based on pre-planned and approved schedules. 

Sixth, when irrigating cotton, the number of irrigators should be increased by at least 2-3 times, all conditions should be created for them in the field, and special attention should be paid to night irrigation. Each irrigated area must be irrigated using the drip method, using short arrow ditches and available flexible pipes. In particular, it is necessary to irrigate with little water, without frequent watering, and as gently as possible. 

At such times, it is good to use light irrigation in the cotton fields, using the method of inter-row irrigation, wetting all the fields in short periods of time. Also, it is absolutely not allowed to drain water for a long time in the field and dump it in the ditch.

To organize and control night irrigation work, night irrigation control groups will be established in each sector under the leadership of a manager and a system of daily irrigation analysis will be introduced. 

In order to organize the use of groundwater or ditch water, additional water pumps will be installed and their uninterrupted supply with electricity will be established. 

Impact on vegetable crop care

As is known, various vegetables are grown in the fields today, as well as agricultural products that have recently been planted in the ground as repeated crops. The sharply increased weather temperature has a negative impact on the care of vegetable crops, causing them to be in a state of stress. 

Tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplants can withstand up to 40-45 days of water deprivation from planting to flowering, when irrigation is stopped. During drought, their flowers fall off, their leaves turn dark green, and during hot weather, their leaves become smaller, appearing as if they have withered, and the development of the above-ground parts slows down. 

If irrigation is stopped during the fruiting period of these vegetables, the plants will survive for 30-35 days. At this time, the buds fall off,