Erfurt (dpa/th) - Thuringia's farmers have achieved mixed crop yields this year. After the hot and dry summer, the results for cereals and apples were below the previous year's values. It was better for cherries and rapeseed, as can be seen from a preliminary balance sheet from the State Statistical Office on Friday. The farmers' association in Erfurt wants to celebrate the traditional harvest festival on Sunday.
In the case of grain, 2.4 million tons were brought in, four percent less than the average for the years 2016 to 2021. Compared to the previous year, the grain harvest was one percent lower. This year was slightly below average for field crops overall, the statisticians said.
At 6.8 tons, the yield per hectare for grain was four percent below the average of previous years. The state office put Thuringia's share of the total German grain harvest at six percent.
Around 360,700 tons of winter rape were harvested. The yield per hectare was 3.7 tons - eight percent above the multi-year average.
Thuringia's fruit growers expected 20 tons of apples per hectare in autumn. That would be 40 percent less than in 2021. The average for the years 2016 to 2021 would be missed by more than a quarter. The cherry harvest, on the other hand, ended with above-average results. For sweet cherries, 8 tons per hectare came off the trees. This exceeded the previous year's level by more than half. In the case of sour cherries, on the other hand, the yield per hectare was 10 tons. This corresponds to a minus of 13 percent compared to the previous year.
