fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week Ending July 22, 2001 Released 4:00 P.M. July 23, 2001 Report Code FL-WE8400 Weather Summary Hot weather continued during the week of July 15 through 21. Temperatures at the major stations ranged from one degree below to two degrees above normal with cloud cover keeping most daily highs in the upper 80s and low 90s. Lows were mostly in the 70s. Rainfall varied from traces at Pensacola to over five inches at Orlando with many central and some southern Peninsula localities receiving abundant rainfall. Some Panhandle and northern Peninsula areas are drying out due to a lack of rain. Field Crops Report Topsoil moisture supplies are rated mostly adequate with scattered areas of very short, short and surplus supplies. Subsoil moisture supplies are mostly adequate to short with some areas reporting surplus and a few localities, very short supplies. Peanut acreage is 76 percent pegged while the crop condition is rated 16 percent poor, 26 percent fair, 50 percent good and 8 percent excellent. Drier weather in some areas of the Panhandle lowered peanut condition from last week. Tobacco harvesting remains active. Irrigated cotton, corn, and sugarcane remain in good condition. Soil Moisture Chart Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 0 1 1 4 Short 10 16 27 29 Adequate 73 66 55 50 Surplus 17 17 17 17 Livestock Report Pasture statewide is mostly in fair to good condition, a slight improvement from the previous week. Grass growth is limited in some locations in the Panhan dle, central and southwest areas due to lack of moisture. The pasture condition is hampered in some locations in the west central and central counties because of surplus moisture from recent rains. Despite frequent rains in most of the State, stock ponds generally are still low. Statewide, cattle are in mostly good condition. Livestock Condition Chart Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 0 0 0 0 Poor 0 0 0 10 Fair 30 25 25 10 Good 65 75 70 75 Excellent 5 0 5 5 Fruit Report CITRUS: Rain and thunderstorms drenched virtually all areas of Florida's citrus belt this past week. There were a few areas that had only a few inches of accumulated moisture. However, most groves had standing water and the novel problem of draining off the excessive amounts that could not soak into the saturated soils. With the help of the recent rains, there continues to be an abundance of new growth on trees of all ages. New crop fruit is making good progress and sizing well. There are a few scrapping crews picking later bloom Valencias and grapefruit for the fresh juice processors. Caretakers have been very active mowing, chopping and discing cover crops that are harboring sucking and chewing insects. Milkweed and other vines are being removed from groves before they cover the tops of the trees. Growers are fertilizing and spraying between showers and thunderstorms. Hedging, topping and burning of dead trees continues in all areas. Drainage ditches and main canals are being cleaned for better water control. Vegetable Report Okra harvesting is active in Dade County. Land preparation for fall crop planting continues with tomato planting expected to begin around Quincy within seven to ten days. Wet fields are delaying some field work in southern Peninsula localities. Comments/Contact Information To receive this report via e-mail, send an e-mail message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov with the following message: add usda- fl-crop-weather your-email-address your.name (optional) An example: add usda-fl-crop-weather jsmith@qtm.com john smith. The report will be e-mailed automatically to your e-mail address each week. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return to the Table of Contents for Publications