WEATHER VARIABILITY OF THE VEGETATION SEASON 2019

Abstract

The year 2019 brought a great weather diversity: from above-average warm and dry February and an early spring drought to cold and wet April and May, followed by heat waves in the summer months and an “Indian summer” in October. Due to the rapid changes in the weather throughout the growing season, during parts of the year vegetation in many areas of Slovenia experienced drought stress despite a previously wet month, or an excess of moisture after a lasting rainless period. The beginning of the year was characterized by extremely early phenological development due to the unusually high air temperatures for that time of year, and early spring agricultural crops were affected by drought stress, with fire risk also present. April was marked by wet, and May also by cold and frost in some places. In most parts of Slovenia, the period from 12 to 15 May was the second coldest since the middle of the 20th century. Unstable weather led to delays in agricultural work such as maize sowing and planting vegetables, making mowing impossible and causing problems with the lodging of cereals and disease. The beekeeping season was also hindered. Along western Slovenia, the growing season could be roughly divided into a wet spring and a dry summer, while elsewhere the water situation of the season was more or less balanced due to alternating periods of wet and dry months. The entry into dormancy was marked by the October heat and a great number of rainless days, deepening the water deficit, especially in the north-west. Despite great weather variability, there was no major loss in crop production in 2019.