fl-crop-weather Week ending June 28, 1998 Released 4:00 P.M. June 29, 1998 WEATHER SUMMARY: Significant rains helped ease dry conditions across some southern parts of the Peninsula during the week of June 21 through 27. However, most northern and central localities remain extremely dry despite receiving scattered showers during the week. Official totals show no measurable rain recorded at West Palm Beach and Valparaiso, about two thirds inch falling at Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, about an inch at Orlando, and almost two and a half inches at Tampa. Temperatures averaged two to four degrees above normal with record highs either met or exceeded at several locations. Most daily highs were in the 90s whiles most lows were in the 70s. Cloudy skies helped to keep some temperatures below record levels near the end of the week. Haze caused by smoke from wildfires continued over some east central areas of the Peninsula. FIELD CROPS: Topsoil moisture in the State is mostly very short to short with a few scattered areas of adequate moisture. The State is in need of rain. Spotty showers have been little help. Brush fires are a problem in all areas. All the dryland crops are moisture stressed and burning up. Corn for grain is a loss in most areas and is being chopped for livestock feed. Even irrigated field crops are stressed because of the high temperatures. Haying has stopped in most areas. The dry weather has stopped dryland forage development in most areas. Pecan trees are starting to abort their nuts. Forty-three percent of the peanuts are pegging, the same as last week. Peanut condition: very poor 0%, poor 37%, fair 60%, and good 3%. Sugarcane growing on sandy land is showing stress. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 69 50 31 23 Short 20 31 58 57 Adequate 11 19 11 20 Surplus 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: Panhandle cattlemen were feeding hay and cattle in some cases were showing signs of heat stress. In the northern counties, grass was short and the cattle were in serious condition. Some locations got rain, but the overall pasture situation is critical. Several thousand acres burned. Hay feeding was active. Pastures were being irrigated where possible. Central area pastures were in critically poor condition in several locations. Cattle supplemental feeding was active. In the west central areas, the cattle condition improved. The pasture condition improved a little after some rain. In the southwest, it was very dry and there were lots of brush fires. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 30 20 5 0 Poor 50 50 10 25 Fair 20 25 75 55 Good 0 5 10 20 Excellent 0 0 0 0 CITRUS: The first part of this week was again very hot and dry with temperatures in the upper 90s to above 100 degrees. There were several scattered showers and thunderstorms the last few days of the week. A lot more rain is needed before the current drought can be broken or relieved. Growers and caretakers are still irrigating around the clock to help maintain good to adequate tree condition. The current dry spell has lasted for two and a half months. Those groves without irrigation are generally in various stages of wilt. There have been some leaf and new crop fruit droppage in the driest areas. Some reset trees in non-irrigated groves are in very bad shape. Those Valencia oranges remaining for harvest are showing various stages of softening depending on irrigations. Virtually all of these late type oranges currently being picked are going to the processors. Very few grapefruit are being picked at this time as most of the packing houses and grapefruit processors are closed for the season. Caretakers are cutting cover crops and herbiciding to help reduce moisture loss. Summer fertilizing and spraying are now being done. Hedging and topping are being reported in all areas. VEGETABLES: Producers are picking sweet corn, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and watermelons. Growers are abandoning some watermelon acreage due to the drought with some fruit scalded by the sun. Harvesting of other vegetables for mainly local sales continues. VEGETABLES--1997-98 SEASON Most producers delayed planting due to the threat of stormy weather during July 1997. Daily showers continued over inland areas of the Peninsula during mid to late July. Feeder bands from Hurricane Danny brought thunderstorms to most localities July 18 through 20. Rainfall from Danny ranged from two to eight inches with Santa Rosa County and northeastern localities of Escambia County affected. Official rain amounts for July totaled from six to about ten and a half inches. July temperatures averaged near normal. Daily afternoon showers during August delayed some land preparations for the laying of plastic and the planting of fall crops over the southern Peninsula. Planting started in early August along the southeastern coast and in the Palmetto-Ruskin region. Showers arriving in the late afternoon during mid-August around Immokalee allowed growers to begin planting. For the month of August, rainfall totaled from almost four to almost ten and a half inches and temperatures averaged within a degree or two of normal. Temperatures during the first three weeks of September averaged mostly one to five degrees below normal as scattered showers brought from a trace to three to five inches of rain each week. During late September heavy rains fell over the West Central region, some parts of the Southwest and East Coast areas, and over Dade County. Unofficial reports showed about nine to sixteen inches of rain fell in the Palmetto-Ruskin area. Rivers and creeks flooded some adjoining agricultural land as they crested during the days following the rain. Drier weather over most of the Peninsula during the last days of September and in early October helped fields dry out from previous heavy rains. However, Dade County received about two and a half inches of rain south of Homestead and about three and a half inches in northern parts during the period. Temperatures averaged near normal to above from late September into early October. No tropical storms or hurricanes threatened the State during August and September. Dry, warm conditions in most areas during October helped the growth and development of crops. Temperatures during October were mostly within a degree of normal until the end of the month when a cold front started crossing the State. October rain totaled from about three-fourths of an inch at West Palm Beach to about five and a half inches at Daytona Beach. The October rain totals were over three inches below usual at Miami and about five and a half below at West Palm Beach. Cold fronts continued to cross the State about every two weeks during November and December bringing abundant rain to many localities with some fields flooded. Strong winds accompanying some of these storms tossed plants with wind- borne sand scarring some fruit. Frost brought harvesting to an end in most northern localities after mid-November. Rainfall during November totaled from about two and a half inches at Jacksonville to over six inches at Valparaiso. November temperatures averaged normal to two degrees below. December temperatures were normal during the first two weeks but plunged three to six degrees below normal after mid-month. Heavy rains, ranging from five to twelve inches, fell around Palmetto-Ruskin during the second week of December. Late December temperatures fell to freezing levels in many western Panhandle, northern Peninsula, and some central Peninsula localities. During the last full week of December rain interrupted harvesting in most central and some southern areas as temperatures climbed six to nine degrees above normal. Central parts experienced from two to over six inches from these storms. Temperatures averaged normal to one degree below for December. Rain for December totaled four to almost sixteen inches at the major stations, and ranged from near normal at Valparaiso to about thirteen and a half inches above normal at Tampa. Warmer, clearer weather arrived by early January boosting plant growth and development of central and southern Peninsula crops and accelerating harvesting over the region. Rainy weather persisted for the rest of January, February, and March. Strong winds that accompanied storms tossed crops and blew off blooms with wind- borne sand scarring fruit. This wind damage lowered some winter and most spring yields. However, virtually all crops escaped significant damage from the sometimes deadly tornadoes spawned by these storms. Muddy soils delayed some planting in most areas and severely damaged some root crops around Zellwood. However, the fields in the Lake Okeechobee region escaped most of these heavy rains. January precipitation ranged from an inch at Miami to over eleven inches at West Palm Beach. February totals ranged from about four and a half inches at Key West to over ten inches at Tampa. March rain totaled from about two and three fourths inches at Jacksonville to six and a half inches at Valparaiso. Most January temperatures averaged three to four degrees above normal. February temperatures were within a degree or two of normal. March temperatures plunged to freezing levels over many western Panhandle and northern and central Peninsula localities during March 11 through 13 with temperatures for the month averaging mostly two to three degrees below normal. Drier, warmer weather arrived during early April with temperatures during the first week averaging five to nine degrees above normal. These warmer temperatures boosted plant growth and fruit development. Strong winds near mid-month affected plant growth in some southeastern and southern Peninsula localities and caused an increase in the need for irrigation. Drier weather during April allowed fieldwork to progress normally with most of the major stations recording two thirds inches of rain or less during April. During the last two weeks of April, Palmetto-Ruskin growers started picking squash, cherry tomatoes, and plum tomatoes. Producers in the Southwest also began cutting watermelons after mid-April as the Dade County tomato harvest neared the end. Storms near the end of the month brought the monthly rain total for Jacksonville to almost five inches with one to two inches falling in some East Coast localities. These late April storms also brought hail and wind damage to some northeastern sites. Monthly temperatures averaged within one degree of normal for April. Harvesting of northern vegetable acreage gained momentum during early May as Palmetto-Ruskin producers started picking round varieties of tomatoes. May weather consisted of warm temperatures averaging one to four degrees above normal, and scattered showers dropping traces of rain around Daytona Beach and over four inches in the Orlando area. In mid-to-late May, Manatee County producers took special measures for the harvesting and packing of tomatoes due to a Medfly quarantine with only green tomatoes allowed to be marketed from quarantined fields. All southern tomato growers took a harvesting holiday on May 23 and 24 due to low market prices. Producers around Quincy started picking tomatoes in late May with shipping gaining momentum during early June. Temperatures soared to record highs during June with Jacksonville recording a weekly average high of 100 degrees; and Orlando, an average high of 99 for June 14 through 20. Most weekly average temperatures for the month of June averaged two to eight degrees above normal. Scattered showers during June dropped only light amounts of rain in most localities with mainly extreme southern Peninsula areas receiving about three inches. This lack of rain withered dryland crops, especially watermelons, in several localities. Lightning from storms ignited the very dry brush in some northern, central, and southern Peninsula localities. However, flames and smoke from these fires caused no significant damage to vegetables. Central and southern Peninsula growers wrapped up most harvesting during late June with Zellwood, Quincy, and Dade County producers expected to market sweet corn, tomatoes, and okra, respectively, through early July. Northern Peninsula and Panhandle producers will cut watermelons through July, also. To receive this report via e-mail, send an e-mail message to nass-state-releases@news.usda.gov with the following message: subscribe fl-crop-weather. The report will be e-mailed automatically to your e-mail address each week.