fl-crop-weather Week ending April 18, 1999 Released 4:00 P.M. April 19, 1999 WEATHER SUMMARY: The week of April 11 through April 17 was not quite as warm as the previous week but continued dry. Most stations reported less than an inch of rain falling by week's end and all areas are still well below normal for the season. Wildfires were reported in some areas. Temperatures averaged in the 70s. Maximum temperatures were above 90 degress in most parts of the State, although Gainesville and some other stations reported a maximum in the upper 80s. Most minimum temperatures were in the 50s, with some stations reporting minimums below 50 degrees. FIELD CROPS: The topsoil moisture throughout the State is very short to short. Tobacco transplanting is winding down. Corn planting is winding down. Cotton and peanut planting are starting. Spring crop land preparations are active. Sugarcane harvest is virtually complete. Growers report six percent of peanuts are planted. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 73 58 36 39 Short 21 42 56 54 Adequate 6 0 8 7 Surplus 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: Pasture and range in the Panhandle was in fair to good condition, where rain has fallen. Pasture and range condition in the rest of the state was very poor to fair. Grass was not growing due to dry conditions. Hay feeding was active in many areas. Some ranchers are running low on hay supplies. Dry weather is stunting pastures and fertilization is being delayed. In some areas pasture grass is dying back and ponds are starting to dry up. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 25 20 0 5 Poor 55 65 30 40 Fair 15 15 65 50 Good 5 0 5 5 Excellent 0 0 0 0 CITRUS: Most of this week was hot and dry. However, on Saturday there were rain showers in virtually all areas of the citrus belt. Some groves had afternoon light showers that soaked in and did not run off into the ditches. More rain is needed in all counties. The bloom period is still lagging in some groves on most types of fruit. Most trees have had petal drop and are receiving their post bloom nutritional sprays. Harvest of Valencia oranges continues very active in all areas with most of this late fruit going to the processors. Grapefruit utilization is still good with most of the fruit coming from the lower east coast. Temples and Honey tangerines are about over for this season. Caretakers are mowing, chopping and discing cover crops for fire protection and moisture conservation. Dead trees are being pushed and some growers are replanting. A few abandoned groves have been pushed out, burned and reset. Post bloom spraying is very active all areas. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Apr 4 Apr 11 Apr 18 Early & Mid oranges 10,000 17,000 3,000 Valencia oranges 6,502,000 5,944,000 7,158,000 All grapefruit 1,896,000 1,723,000 1,485,000 Early Tangerines 6,000 2,000 1,000 Honey Tangerines 126,000 90,000 84,000 Temples 16,000 11,000 17,000 VEGETABLES: Dry weather continues to increase the need for irrigation. Hot weather is lowering the quality of some crops. Some tomato growers are not making third picks due to the low market. Major vegetables shipped: snap beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, okra, parsley, peppers, pickles, radishes, squash, tomatoes, and watermelons. SNAP BEANS: Dade--Bean volume good with good quality and yield. Should have fair to good volume for the rest of April if weather doesn't get hotter. Everglades--Picking is active with good supples available. Quality is good. East Coast--Crop condition is mostly good for limited acreage available for harvest. Light supply is providing good quality and color. Southwest-- Crop condition is good. Growth and development are good. Picking is steady. Quality is good. West Central--Crop condition is fair to good. Growth and development are normal. Picking is gaining. Quality is fair to good. Size and color are good. Volume is increasing. North--Planting is winding down. CABBAGE: West Central--The crop is in fair to good condition. Crop growth and development are normal. Spring harvest is steady. Quality and size are fair to good. Size is medium. Color is good. Hastings--Harvest is steady. The crop is in good condition. Crop growth and development are normal. Dade-- Harvest expected to end this week. Zellwood--Harvest is active. CARROTS: All areas--Harvesting is active. CELERY: Everglades-- Harvesting remains active with steady supplies available. SWEET CORN: Everglades--Picking is increasing seasonally. Quality is generally good. Supplies are expected to peak in April. Dade--Harvest is active with good quality and yield. Volume should drop after this week but fair supplies for next 10 days. East Coast--Crop condition is mostly good for limited acreage for local sales. Ear quality is mostly good. Zellwood--The crop is in very good condition. However, rain is needed to ensure proper ear development. Harvesting is expected to begin in May. North-- Planting is active. CUCUMBERS, Fresh market: Southwest --The crop is in fair to good condition. Picking is steady. Growth and development are good. Quality and size are fair to good. East Coast--Crop conditions are variable, fair to mostly good shape. Harvest is active, with good supply available from all picks. Good quality and color from the first pick. Crop progress is mostly good but hot, dry weather taking toll on vines. Clean up active in older fields. West Central--The crop is in fair to good condition. Picking is getting under way. Growth and development are normal. PICKLES: West Central--Crop condition is fair to good. Picking gaining with fair to good quality and size available. Color is good. Yield and volume are fair to good. Zellwood--The crop is in good condition with picking to start next week. Dade-- Pickles coming on good with harvest gaining. Good quality and yield. Good volume for the next four weeks or so. EGGPLANT: Dade--Eggplant looks good but hot weather is not helping. Quality is fair. The yield is good. East Coast--Crop condition is generally good at all stages of growth. New blocks coming into production provide good quality and color from first cutting. Older blocks being picked over, stakes and strings removed. Young plants blooming and setting fruit. Southwest-- Crop condition is good. Growth and development are normal. Cutting is steady with good quality available. West Central-- The crop is in fair to good condition. Growth and development are normal. Growers are getting close to starting harvest. ENDIVE/ESCAROLE: Everglades--Harvesting is active with a good volume available. Quality is good. Zellwood-- Supplies from southern Georgia cooled for re-shipment. LETTUCE: Everglades--Harvesting continues with mostly good supplies available. Quality is good. OKRA: Dade--Harvest has started with small volume of very good quality available. Fields are looking good with heavy irrigation helping. PEPPERS: Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition. Growth and development are good. Harvesting remains steady with fair to good quality and size available. East Coast--Crop making mostly good progress at all stages of growth. New fields coming into crown picks providing good quality and sizes. Other picks providing variable sizes. Light volume on specialty peppers. Quality is good. The young spring crop is blooming and setting fruit. In older fielda, stakes and strings are being removed and mowed down. West Central--Crop condition is fair to good. Growth and development are normal. Harvest will start in next two to three weeks. POTATOES: Dade--Yield is excellent. Quality is very good with dry weather helping. Good volume thru April. Southwest-- The crop is in good condition. Growth and development are normal. Harvest is steady. Tuber quality and size are good. West Central--Harvest is gaining. Quality is good. Size is fair to good. The yield is good. The crop is in good condition. Growth and development are normal. Hastings--Crop is in excellent condition. Growth and development are normal. Growers are starting to harvest. RADISHES: Everglades, Lake Placid--Digging is active. Quality is good. SQUASH: Dade--The crop volume is down some. Quality is good. The yield is fair. Southwest--The crop condition is in fair to good. Growth and development are good. Harvesting continues at a steady pace with good quality. East Coast--Crop condition is fair to good. Supplies are light for zucchini and yellow. Quality and color remain good. Fruit is setting and sizing. West Central-- The crop condition is fair to good. Growth and development are normal. Harvest is starting. Quality is good. Size is small to medium. STRAWBERRIES: Plant City, Palmetto-Ruskin--The crop is poor condition. U-Pic harvesting will be finishing up this week. Dade--Some U-Pic fields have closed but fair amount of berries still in fields that are open. TOMATOES: Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition. Harvesting is steady with good quality available. The yield is good with good supplies of all sizes available. Spraying is steady to control insects and disease. Workers are pulling plastic stakes on fields that are finished. Dade--Crop is winding down as season nears the end. Fruit size is good and all are sizes available. Fair volume available for the next two weeks. East Coast--New fields are coming into production for the crown pick providing good quality, large sized fruit, and good yields. Other picks provide good quality and variable sizes. Some third picks are being passed over. Mid-growth plants are blooming and setting fruit. Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is good. Plant growth is fair to good. Fruit set is good. Fruit sizing is fair to good. Harvest is starting slow but should get better as season progresses. Quincy--Crop is in fair condition. The crop was damaged by blowing sand last week. CHERRY TOMATOES: Southwest--The crop remains in fair to good condition. Harvesting is steady with fair to good quality available. Growth and development are good. Palmetto-Ruskin-- The crop condition is fair to good. Growth and development is slow to normal. Harvesting is increasing. Quality, size, and color are good. Volume still down but it will increase in a few weeks. PLUM TOMATOES: Southwest--The crop condition is fair to good. Growth and development are good. Picking is steady. Quality is fair to good. Palmetto-Ruskin--The crop is in fair to good condition. Picking expected to start next week. Growth and development are normal. WATERMELONS: Southwest--The crop condition is fair to good. Harvest gaining with fair to good quality available. Growth and development are good. Palmetto-Ruskin--The crop remains in fair to good condition. Growth and development are normal. Harvest will start in three to four weeks. North-- Planting is active with some producers finished. 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. Return to the Table of Contents for Publications