The planting of spring crops is now, more or less, finished across Europe, the European Commission has confirmed.
Full details are contained within the latest issue of the JRC MARS bulletin.
Maize
The drilling of grain maize crops is now almost complete, with number of small land pockets yet to be planted out in the Balkans and Ukraine.
However, uneven germination has been an issue in many countries.
In France, the campaign is nearing completion ahead of the usual schedule, although uneven emergence is observed in areas affected by precipitation deficits.
Sowing is also almost complete in Germany. However, a local rainfall deficit in the southern regions could affect emergence if it persists.
In Poland, while sowing is progressing well, emergence has been hampered by the late cold spell at the end of April.
Where the Benelux countries are concerned, sowing is also progressing swiftly within the optimal window, with the northern areas lagging behind due to low top soil temperatures.
In Austria and Czechia, sowing was completed under very dry conditions, and rainfall is urgently needed to ensure emergence and leaf development.
Due to colder temperatures, the campaign is about to finish in Slovakia.
Maize sowing progressed swiftly in Spain and Portugal, where the soil moisture levels were optimal for good establishment and emergence.
Potatoes
Brussels is confirming that Europe’s 2026 potato planting campaign is progressing well in the wake of good conditions.
Among the major producers, Germany and France have completed sowing under generally good field conditions.
In Germany, emergence is under way, and recent rainfall in the north-east has partly alleviated the water deficit that developed during the exceptionally dry April.
However, continued dryness in the south remains a concern for crop establishment. Significantly, the forecasted rainfall should help improve the situation if it materialises.
In France and the Benelux countries, field operations progressed smoothly throughout April, and beneficial rainfall in early May improved soil moisture conditions after an exceptionally dry spell.
In Slovenia and Croatia, dry conditions favoured the potato planting campaign overall. But the conditions for establishment and emergence remain suboptimal due to very low soil moisture levels.
In Hungary, the potato planting campaign has been delayed and crop conditions are not good.
Very dry and dusty soils have negatively affected emergence, while frost damage to leaves has been observed following the cold spell in late April.
Meanwhile, in Romania, the planting campaign started later than usual due to wet conditions in late March and early April. It is now behind schedule but almost completed.
However, the cold spell slowed down crop emergence. In both Hungary and Romania, the planted area of potatoes is expected to decrease by 20%, year-on-year.