fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week Ending November 25, 2001 Released 4:00 P.M. November 26, 2001 Report Code FL-WE4100 Weather Summary Some Panhandle and northern localities received much needed rain during the week of November 18 through 24 with Tallahassee receiving almost one and three fourths inches and Pensacola reporting a little over an inch. A few east central areas reported a half inch to an inch while other regions reported either no rain or only traces for the week. Temperatures at the major stations averaged one to six degrees above normal. Daytime highs were in the 70s and 80s while nighttime lows were mostly in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Pensacola and Tallahassee reported at least one daily low in the 30s. Field Crops Report Topsoil and subsoil moisture supplies are mostly short to adequate. Several western Panhandle and northern Peninsula areas remain very dry while a few southern Peninsula localities report surplus subsoil moisture. Cotton harvesting is nearing the end. Sugarcane harvesting and planting remain active in the Everglades area. Soil Moisture Chart Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 8 14 4 11 Short 23 22 26 14 Adequate 58 64 59 65 Surplus 11 0 11 10 Livestock Report In the Panhandle and northern counties, pasture condition is very poor to poor due to drought. Many cattlemen are feeding supplemental hay. In the central area, cattle condition continues fair to good. Pastures are still green but grass growth is at a standstill due to drought. Haying is active. In the southwest, pasture condition varies from fair to good due to normal winter die-back of permanent pasture grass. Statewide, cattle condition ranges from very poor to good, with most pasture fair to good. Livestock Condition Chart Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 5 10 0 10 Poor 10 5 5 5 Fair 30 35 30 30 Good 50 50 60 55 Excellent 5 0 5 0 Fruit Report CITRUS: The weather was very mild this week with only scattered rains in isolated areas. Most of Florida's citrus producing counties are currently reporting below average rainfall for the month of November. A few growers on the high sand hills and drier areas are irrigating to maintain good tree condition. There is very little new growth except for some younger trees in the southern part of the State. Almost all of the early and mid season fruit have excellent on-tree coloring, with Sunburst tangerines showing some of the best natural orangish-red color. Picking crews slowed at midweek due to the Thanksgiving holiday. However, many were back to work Friday through Sunday sending many loads to the juice plants. Fresh fruit packing houses cranked up again over the weekend shipping Navels, early oranges, white and colored grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos. Virtually all the processors are now open and taking both field-run fruit and packing house eliminations. Caretakers are mowing, chopping and discing cover crops prior to harvesting and for fire protection. Dead tree removal and burning of grove trash continues in all areas. Some growers in the southern part of the citrus belt are still fertilizing and liming. A few clean up sprays are being applied to mid and late season crops. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Nov 12 Nov 18 Nov 25 Navel oranges 292,000 265,000 186,000 Early & Mid oranges including Ambersweet 3,332,000 5,293,000 5,963,000 All grapefruit 666,000 593,000 540,000 Tangerines 350,000 275,000 156,000 Tangelos 24,000 55,000 49,000 Vegetable Report Most southern Peninsula harvesting paused to observe Thanksgiving Day. Producers are picking tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, pickles, eggplant, radishes, snap beans, squash, strawber ries, sweet corn and watermelons. SNAP BEANS: Dade--Young acreage remains in very good condi tion. Planting continues. Harvesting is active with good quality available. West Central--The crop is in fair to good condition. Picking remains active with some producers finished. Quality is fair to good. North--Harvesting continues. Quality is mostly good. Southwest-- Condition is good. Planting is steady. Harvesting is gaining momen tum. Quality is fair to good. Yields are low from oldest fields. East Coast--Crop condition is good. Hand harvesting continues. Quality is good. Volume is light. SWEET CORN: Everglades, Lake Placid--Picking is gaining momentum. Quality is mostly good. Southwest--Crop condition is rated fair to good. Picking is steady with fair quality available. Volume remains light. Zellwood--Harvesting is slowing seasonally. Dade-- Plant growth is good. Planting continues. East Coast--Condition is good. Planting is slowly increasing. Pulling is expected to start over the next seven to ten days. CABBAGE: Zellwood--Producers are gearing up for harvest which is expected to begin soon. Dade--Condition is good. Planting is active. Harvesting is expected to begin in about two weeks. CUCUMBERS, fresh market: Southwest--The crop is in good condition. Planting remains steady. Harvesting is increasing seasonally. Quality is good. East Coast--Crop condition is fair to good. Picking continues with super select and select grades available. Quality and color are good. Workers are removing plants from acreage completely harvested. Palmetto-Ruskin, Plant City--The crop is in fair to good condition. Picking is mostly steady with some harvesting slowing seasonally. Quality and color are fair. Sizes remain variable. Zellwood--Picking of pickle varieties for fresh market is active. Quality is mostly good. CUCUMBERS, pickles: West Central--Crop condition is fair. Picking remains mostly steady with some growers finished. Quality is fair. Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Planting of a limited acreage is active. Picking is steady with good quality available. Dade-- Harvesting is virtually finished. Planting continues with growers discing fields completely picked for replanting. EGGPLANT: East Coast--Crop condition is rated very good. Cutting continues with very good quality and color available. Tying is active. Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is rated fair to good. Cutting remains steady with fair to good quality available. Color is good. Sizes are variable. North--Harvesting remains active. Quality is mostly good. Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition. Planting is active. Harvesting is increasing with fair to good quality available. Some fruit shows sand scars. Dade--Crop condition remains good. Planting is nearing the end. Picking is slowly gaining momentum. Quality is good. Workers are staking younger plants as needed. ENDIVE/ESCAROLE: Everglades--Harvesting is gaining momen tum. LETTUCE: Everglades--Harvesting is increasing seasonally. OKRA: Dade--Cutting is nearing the end with some producers finished. Quality is good. Volume is very light. BELL AND OTHER SWEET PEPPERS: Southwest--Crop condition is rated fair to good. Planting is steady. Picking of Bell varieties is increasing seasonally. Quality is fair to good. Harvesting of other sweet varieties is steady with good quality available. East Coast-- Crop condition is good. Transplanting remains active. Harvesting of green Bells continues. Quality is very good. Picking of red Bells and cubanelles is yielding a light volume of good quality. Workers are leveling land, laying plastic and irrigating as needed. West Central-- Condition is fair to good. Harvesting is steady. Quality is fair with some misshaped fruit not meeting grade. Color is good with medium to large sizes available. HOT PEPPERS: Southwest--The crop is in good condition. Planting and harvesting are steady. Quality is good. East Coast--Picking is active. Volume is light. POTATOES: Southwest--The crop is in good condition. Planting continues at a steady pace. Dade--Oldest acreage is beginning to sprout with plants making good stands. Planting remains active and is expected to continue for most of December. West Central--Planting is expected to start over the next seven to ten days. RADISHES: Everglades--Harvesting is slowly increasing. SQUASH: Southwest--Crop condition is good. Planting and harvest ing are steady. Quality is good. East Coast--Plant growth is good. Cutting of zucchini and yellow varieties continues with fancy and medium grades available. Quality and color are good. Dade--Planting is on schedule. Harvesting is increasing seasonally. Quality is good. Palmetto-Ruskin--The crop is in fair to good condition. Picking is steady. Quality is fair to good . Color is good. North--Picking is active. Quality is mostly good. STRAWBERRIES: Plant City, Dover, Floral City, Palmetto-Ruskin-- Crop condition is good. Warm temperatures are hindering crop development. Picking is slowly gaining momentum. Quality, color and sizes are fair to good. Dade--Condition is good. Oldest plants are showing small berries. U-Pic harvesting is expected to start about mid- December. TOMATOES: Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Planting remains steady. Picking continues to increase as more acreage reaches maturity. Quality is fair to good for first picks and good for second picks. Sizes are variable. Workers are spraying, staking, pruning and tying as needed. East Coast--Fruit setting is improving and sizing is good. Planting continues. Producers are making first, second and third picks. Quality is mostly good. Volume is increasing seasonally. Workers are irrigating, leveling land, laying plastic, pruning and tying as needed. West Central--Condition is rated mostly fair to good. Picking continues but is starting to slow seasonally. A limited volume is expected for January harvesting. Spraying and tying are active. Dade--Condition is rated very good. Planting is active. Harvesting of a light volume is expected to start about mid-December. Workers are irrigating, spraying, making plant beds, laying plastic, and staking as needed. Quincy--Picking is nearing the end. CHERRY TOMATOES: Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Planting is steady. Picking is increasing seasonally. Quality is fair to good. West Central--Crop condition is fair to good. Picking remains mostly steady. Quality is good. Volume is decreasing seasonally. PLUM TOMATOES: Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Transplanting is steady. Picking is increasing seasonally. Quality is fair to good. West Central--The crop is in fair to good condition. Harvest ing is steady. Quality and color are good. Volume is decreasing seasonally. WATERMELONS: Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition remains fair to good. Harvesting is decreasing seasonally. Quality is fair to good. Color is good. Sizes are variable. 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