fl-crop-weather Week ending November 15, 1998 Released 4:00 P.M. November 16, 1998 WEATHER SUMMARY: Mostly clear skies and dry weather prevailed during the week of November 8 through November 14 with only scattered, small amounts of rain. Many Central through Northern areas could use some rain. Temperatures for the week averaged from two to six degrees above normal at the major stations. Highs averaged in the upper 70s to 80s with the maximum highs in the 80s. Lows averaged in the upper 50s to 60s and 70s. FIELD CROPS: Topsoil moisture throughout the Panhandle and northern Peninsula is short to adequate with areas of very short moisture. The moisture in the southern part of the Peninsula is adequate to surplus. Dry weather is delaying small grain and forage planting and emergence in areas of the Panhandle and northern Peninsula. Harvesting of cotton is active. Haying is starting to wind down. Sugarcane harvest and planting are becoming active after being delayed by wet fields. Ninety-nine percent of the peanuts for nuts are reported harvested. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 14 8 0 1 Short 25 17 32 22 Adequate 41 64 49 54 Surplus 20 11 19 23 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: In the northern counties, there was insufficient soil moisture to establish cool season forages. Already emerged winter forage was seriously drought stressed. However, planting of grains for winter forage in the central counties was delayed due to wet soil conditions. Already planted forage was slow in emerging. In the west central coun ties, pastures were in fair condition and grass was still green. In the southwest, there was a surplus of moisture and some low laying pasture had standing water for a while. Statewide, cattle and calves were in poor to good condition. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 0 0 0 0 Poor 15 10 0 5 Fair 35 55 40 45 Good 50 35 60 50 Excellent 0 0 0 0 CITRUS: This was a very mild November week in Florida's citrus belt. There was very little rain, temperatures were in the mid to low 80s and growers were irrigating to maintain good tree and fruit condition. New growth has slowed appreciably. New crop fruit is progressing very well in well-cared-for groves. Those groves with minimum care have foliage that is yellowing with some smaller misshapen fruit. Fresh fruit packing houses are running early oranges, early tangerines, K-Early Citrus Fruit, tangelos and white and colored grapefruit. Processors are taking field run fruit and packing house eliminations. There are several blocks of young tree early oranges that are mature and ready to be harvested. Caretakers are mowing, chopping and discing cover crops. A few growers are still herbiciding for winter weed control. Spot spraying for fresh fruit continues in most areas. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Nov 1 Nov 8 Nov 15 Navel oranges 200,000 236,000 248,000 Early & Mid oranges 488,000 928,000 1,925,000 All grapefruit 820,000 853,000 642,000 Tangerines 149,000 188,000 192,000 K-Early Citrus Fruit 7,000 7,000 5,000 Tangelos 15,000 24,000 42,000 VEGETABLES: Sunny skies, mild temperatures and very little rain this week helped vegetables recover from the rain and winds from Tropical Storm Mitch the previous week. Major crops shipped during the week included snap beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, pickles, squash, tomatoes, and watermelons. SNAP BEANS: North--Producers picked a light volume. East Coast--Fields are drying out. Cultivating and fertilizing are active. Beans planted on open ground, some lowland was flooded. Beans on plastic are recovering slowly but are messed up. Younger plantings are in fair to good shape. Very low volume harvested. Everglades--Damage was generally moderate to heavy. Some fields will be abandoned. Dade--Beans look good overall but some showed some scars from high winds. Harvest is increasing with fair yield and fair quality. Some beans on poles scarred. Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condi tion. Planting is steady and picking is starting. Growth and development are normal and quality is fair to good. West Central--Crop condition is fair. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvest is starting with fair quality, small to medium size. Color is fair to good. CABBAGE: West Central--Planting is steady. The crop is in fair to good condition. Crop growth and development are normal. Hastings--Planting is active. The crop is in good condition. Crop growth and development are normal. Dade--Planting is active. Crop is in good condition. CARROTS: All areas--Planting remains active. CELERY: Everglades--Plants are recovering from the previous week's sand and water problems. There may be some quality problems from the wet conditions. SWEET CORN: Zellwood, North--Harvesting continues at an active pace. Yields are improving. Quality is very good. Everglades--Harvest is underway. The crop continues to recover from the rains and winds of the previous week. Dade--Corn is growing well. Some plants that were blown over have come back up and are doing well. East Coast--The wet fields are starting to dry up. Discing and field work are active. Light planting is underway and is expected to gain momentum in coming weeks. CUCUMBERS, Fresh Market: West Central--Crop condition is fair. Planting is nearly complete. Growth and development are slow to normal. Picking continues to gain momentum. Quality is fair with variable size. Color is fair to good. East Coast -- Oldest plantings are mowed down. New blocks are coming into production. Quality and color are variable. Runners are forming, blooming set and sizing fruit. Southwest--Condition remains fair to good. Planting is winding down. Harvesting is steady. Quality is fair to good. Some acreage was lost to water the previous week but they had already been picked twice. PICKLES: West Central--Condition remains fair. Harvesting is steady. Growth and development are normal. Fruit quality and size are fair to good. Zellwood-- Picking is active. Dade-- Pickles look good with good yield and fair quality. Some fruit was scarred by winds but overall is in good shape. EGGPLANT: East Coast--Most all stages of planting are in fair to good shape. Regular and Italian types are being cut. The quality and color of fruit is mostly good. Some scarred fruit is being graded out. Plants are developing, blooming, setting, and sizing fruit. West Central--Crop condition is fair. Growth and development are slow to normal. Picking is gaining with fair quality and variable sizes. Yield is down. Dade--Plants are growing very well, making good bush. Fruit is appearing in the early fields. A few scars are showing on the early fruit but overall looks good. Southwest--Crop condition is good. Growth and development are normal. ENDIVE/ESCAROLE: The crop continues to recover from the effects of the previous weeks' rains. Quality is expected to be reduced. Harvesting will be starting soon. LETTUCE: Everglades--The crop continues to recover and improve from the rains of the previous week. Heavy rains caused undetermined damage a week ago. Most growers were able to drain water from the fields but there will be quality problems. OKRA: Young okra fields look good. Some of the old fields were blown around and hurt but were almost finished. Grow ers are mowing off some old fields to start back and make a second crop. PEPPERS: Southwest--Bell condition is fair to good. Planting at a steady pace continues. Growth and development are normal. Harvesting is steady with good quality. East Coast--Crop is making fair to good progress after the storm. Some of the younger plantings are showing improved growth. Harvest started increasing as more fields are coming into production with variable sizes and quality. First picks and limb fruit are now being harvested. Some light harvest on specialty peppers, Cubanelles, Jalapeno, long and finger hots. Quality is mostly good. Laying of plastic and transplanting for the winter crop is active. West Central--The crop is in fair to good condition with slow to normal development. Harvest has started with fair to good quality and variable sizes. Yield is fair. POTATOES: Dade--Planting resumed this week after rains last week stopped it. Some replanting was done. Southwest-- Planting is steady. Crop is in good condition. Growth and development are normal. West Central--Planting is gaining momentum. The crop is in good condition. Growth and development are normal. RADISHES: Everglades--Radishes suffered heavy damage from Mitch's heavy rains. Some fields were lost. Replanting is underway. SQUASH: East Coast--Oldest plantings are being mowed. New plantings are coming into production. Cutting is light from both varieties. Quality is variable and color is fair to good. Crop conditions are reduced. West Central--Crop condition is fair. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvest continues with fair size and color. Yield is off but should get better as season progresses. Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good with some light, steady planting. Harvest is steady with some water damage. Quality is fair to good. Dade--Squash looks good but high winds last week broke some limbs and some fruit was scarred. Quality looks better this week. Yield is average. Planting is increasing. Overall, fields came through the storm in pretty good shape. STRAWBERRIES: Plant City, Palmetto-Ruskin--Condition remains fair to good. Picking has started with a very small amount harvested. TOMATOES: Southwest--Overall crop condition is fair to good. There was very little damage to the plants due to the past week's rains, but there was some fruit damage. Harvest is picking up as more growers are starting to pick. Grade out is above normal due to some splitting around the stem of the fruit. Quincy--Volume is declining seasonally. Palmetto- Ruskin--Crop condition and growth are fair. Harvest is steady but yield is light. Spraying is active. East Coast--Crop condition is fair to good. Older plantings are being picked. Fruit quality is variable. Rain and sand blown from Mitch will have some affects on plant development and fruit in later weeks. Dade--The crop is in fair condition and recovering from the storm and high winds. Spraying is active for disease control. Older fields are starting to show good hands. CHERRY TOMATOES: Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is fair to good. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvesting is increasing. Quality is fair to good with normal sizes. Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Growth and development are normal. Picking is steady. Quality is good. PLUM TOMATOES: Palmetto-Ruskin--Condition remains fair to good. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvest is increasing with fair quality. Size and color are fair. Southwest--Condition is fair to good with normal development. Planting is steady. Harvest is steady with fair to good quality. WATERMELONS: Palmetto-Ruskin--Condition remains fair to good. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvesting is steady with fair to good sizes. Color is good. Southwest--Condition remains fair to good. Harvest is steady with fair to good quality. There was some water damage. 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.