During the third ten-day period of August, grain-growing regions in Kazakhstan primarily saw crops reach the "full maturity" stage, and harvesting operations were underway. Air temperatures were generally near normal; precipitation was near or above normal in the north, center, and east of the country, while the west and northwest received below-normal rainfall. This was reported by Kazhydromet in its ten-day review.
In the north, spring wheat and spring barley crops were mainly at the "full maturity" stage, with "wax maturity" observed in some areas. The condition of spring grain crops was predominantly good to excellent, though satisfactory in some locations.
In the west and northwest, spring grain crops were at the "full maturity" stage.
In the east, crop conditions were good to excellent.
In the central region, crop conditions were generally good, though poor in certain parts of the Karkaraly District (Burktty agropost).
In the east and north, sunflower crops were in the "ripening to harvest maturity" stage. Plant conditions were good to excellent, with satisfactory conditions noted in some areas.
Instrumental measurements of productive soil moisture reserves in the northern grain-growing regions (Kostanay, Akmola, North Kazakhstan, and Pavlodar regions) indicated satisfactory to optimal moisture levels in the one-meter soil layer. At the same time, drying of the topsoil (arable layer) was observed in virtually all regions.