explain the full topic on crops for europe
Answers
*explanation* :-Crops can be broadly categorised into two groups, those that are annual and those that are perennial. Annual crops are those that do not last more than two growing seasons and typically only one. Perennial crops last for more than two growing seasons, either dying back after each season or growing continuously; these are also termed permanent crops. Annual crops can either be sown in the autumn and be winter hardy (so-called winter crops) to be harvested the following year or in the spring and summer of the following year to be harvested that year. In the EU, rapeseed, wheat, rye and triticale are typically winter crops, whereas maize, sunflowers, rice, soybeans, potatoes, and sugar beet are summer crops. Barley is common in both its winter and spring varieties.
Crop production is particularly sensitive to prevailing weather and climatic conditions at key times of the growing season. For example, depending on a plant’s stage of development, heavy spring frosts can damage the growth of cereals and destroy fruit blossoms. Likewise, spring-to-summer droughts and heat waves can cause significant yield losses, while strong winds and heavy rainfall can make harvesting difficult and compromise quality.
Meteorological and hydrological conditions therefore play an important role in both the levels and quality of crop production but they also have a knock-on effect on prices through the causal effect of supply and demand. It is for this reason that production levels and prices are brought together in this article. Of course, with the EU covering such a large area and including such diverse climates, the impacts of adverse weather conditions and extremes on production levels in one region may be offset by optimum conditions in another. However, where the production of certain crops is concentrated in a few regions, EU production levels will be particularly susceptible to weather conditions as well as to pest attacks.
The statistics on crop production in this article are shown at an aggregated level and have been selected from over 100 different crop products for which official statistics are collected.