sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending July 24, 2005 Issue SC-CW1422 Agricultural Summary The weather last week was typical for summer in South Carolina with hot, humid days fueling scattered afternoon thunderstorms. Heavy rains caused localized flash flooding in some areas of the lower part of the State and the rain and wet fields interfered with spraying schedules in some areas. Soil moisture was 2% very short, 12% short, 75% adequate and 11% surplus. There were 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork. Field Crops Report CORN condition continued to improve and development was near normal after a slow start. The SOYBEAN crop continued to make good progress with the overall condition rated as good. COTTON was also in good condition, although development of the crop continued behind normal. SORGHUM crop progress continued near normal with the crop in good condition. PEANUT pegging was slightly behind normal, but the crop continued in good condition. Producers were trying to stay on their spray schedules despite interference by scattered storms last week. TOBACCO topping was nearly completed last week. The crop was in fair to mostly good condition. Fruit, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Report WATERMELON and CANTALOUPE harvests continued behind normal and producers were still having difficulty getting into some fields due to the rain. Summer vegetable harvests were winding down with the SNAP BEAN harvest at 97 percent completed, CUCUMBER harvest at 99 percent completed and TOMATO harvest at 99 percent completed. The PEACH crop was 55 percent harvested by week's end and the crop was in mostly good condition. APPLE condition remained fair to mostly good. Small Grains, Pastures and Livestock Report LIVESTOCK remained in mostly good condition last week, but PASTURES declined somewhat to fair to mostly good condition. SMALL GRAIN harvest was finally completed last week. Summer HAY harvest was slightly ahead of normal with the overall condition rated fair to mostly good. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Barley Harvested 100 100 100 :Rye Harvested 100 100 100 Cantaloups Harvested 84 95 94 :Snap Beans Harvested 97 99 98 Corn Silked 100 100 99 :Sorghum Headed 74 93 74 Corn Dough Stage 84 85 83 :Sorghum Turned Color 39 43 39 Corn Matured 22 24 30 :Sorghum Matured 1 12 4 Cotton Squared 80 92 88 :Soybeans Emerged 100 100 100 Cotton Bolls Set 34 51 42 :Soybeans Bloomed 41 43 34 Cucumbers Harvested 99 100 100 :Soybeans Pods Set 9 21 17 Other Hay Harvested 77 76 72 :Tobacco Topped 99 98 97 Oats Harvested 100 100 100 :Tobacco Harvested 29 29 27 Peaches Harvested 55 57 60 :Tomatoes Harvested 99 98 98 Peanuts Pegged 77 84 80 :Watermelons Harvested 79 91 92 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Condition Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Very Excel- Very Excel- Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent :Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Percent -- -- Percent-- Apples 0 0 30 70 0 :Peaches 0 0 3 87 10 Cantaloups 0 6 54 40 0 :Peanuts 0 1 14 79 6 Corn 0 1 12 70 17 :Sorghum 0 1 9 88 2 Cotton 0 1 22 70 7 :Soybeans 0 1 16 72 11 Hay 2 3 34 56 5 :Sweetpotato 0 0 85 15 0 Livestock 0 0 16 80 4 :Tobacco 0 6 30 58 6 Pastures 0 2 25 62 11 :Watermelons 0 4 61 35 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending July 24, 2005 Hot, humid conditions helped fuel afternoon thunderstorms Monday through Friday. Tuesday’s storms produced 2.29 inches of rain in just one hour at the National Weather Service Office, Columbia AP. Heat index values of 112 degrees were observed at Charleston and Eastover’s McEntire airfield on Thursday. Intense displays of lightning with large hail were reported in Berkeley County Thursday evening with flash flooding occurring in Dorchester and Charleston counties. Subsiding air over the weekend resulted in mostly sunny, dry weather. For the period, the State average temperature was one degree above normal. The highest official temperature reported was 98 degrees at Johnston on July 18, at Cheraw on July 19 and at Orangeburg on July 20. The lowest official temperature reported was 63 degrees at Caesars Head on the morning of July 24. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.20 inches at Dillon ending at 7:00 am on July 22. The average Statewide rainfall for the period was 0.5 inches. SOIL: 4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 83 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 84 degrees. Precipitation Weekly Jan 1 Deviation Total Total From Avg Greer 0.06 34.4 4.8 Columbia 4.34 29.6 1.1 Orangeburg 0.21 24.4 -3.7 Charlotte, NC 0.00 24.3 -0.6 Augusta, GA 0.78 32.8 6.2 Florence 0.45 24.1 -1.4 Myrtle Beach 0.00 16.3 -7.4 Charleston 0.39 23.1 -5.1 Savannah, GA 0.02 26.8 -0.7 Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday. Contact Information Robert A. Graham, Director Stephen Pavlasek, Jr, Deputy Director Phone: 803-765-5333 E-mail: nass-sc@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/sc