Withering of Plants

the premature drying up of plants as a result of prolonged soil and atmospheric drought. It is most common in extremely arid regions in saline and chestnut soils, but it also occurs in the arid chernozem steppe and regions further north.

Ordinarily, crops wither in spots, very rarely in large masses. Withering of cereal grains is usually observed in the first half of the summer, before the grain forms. As a rule, drying begins in the lower leaves, since the upper leaves are more drought-resistant. The main means of combating plant withering are the accumulation of moisture in the soil (retention of snow and groundwater, bare and early fallow, early autumn plowing, application of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, and other agrotechnic methods) and the planting of drought-resistant varieties.