On August 19, grain growers of four provinces of Turkmenistan - Akhal, Mary, Lebap and Balkan - began sowing of winter wheat. It should be recalled that the northern, Dashoguz province of the country started a sowing campaign a week earlier.

In 2010, Turkmen farmers are expected to harvest 1 million 600 thousand tons of wheat, including 450 thousand tons in Akhal province, 380 thousand tons in Mary province, 350 thousand tons in Lebap province, 300 thousand tons in Dashoguz province and 120 thousand tons in Balkan province.

In all, Turkmenistan''s wheat fields will occupy 860 hectares of land. The bulk of seeds come from the domestic varieties of wheat such as "Eloten-1", "Sahrai", "Dzhuvan", as well as from "Yubileynaya-100" and "Bat''ko", imported from Stavropol region of the Russian Federation, that proved well in the local climatic conditions.

As the State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) reports quoting the Turkmenobahyzmat Association, the technical fleet of Turkmenistan''s agricultural sector has more than 10 thousand tractors with plows and more than 1800 grain seeders. As is known, farmers have recently received 500 "Belarus-82.1" and 100 "Belarus-80" tractors from the Minsk Tractor Plant that were immediately sent to the fields.