sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending October 9, 2005 Issue SC-CW1433 Agricultural Summary As tropical storm Tammy moved northward several counties received prodigious amounts of rain, while others received only intermittent showers. Although growers were happy to see rain at last, most expect little relief for early planted soybeans which were being harvested as the weather allowed. The rain may help fill out some late planted soybeans. Cotton seemed more hurt by the rain than helped in Georgetown county which received between 9 to 13 inches of the wet stuff. Small grain plantings were behind schedule due to the weather. Soil moisture was 11% very short, 22% short, 52% adequate and 15% surplus. There were no significant insect or disease problems to report. There were 3.9 days suitable for fieldwork. Field Crops Report CORN was 99 percent harvested by week's end. SOYBEANS had dropped 20 percent of their leaves by week's end and were in mostly fair to good. COTTON harvest continued with 16 percent harvested and 83 percent of bolls opened. Cotton ready to be harvested may have suffered a hit in counties with large amounts of rainfall. Fifty-seven percent of the SORGHUM crop was harvested and most had matured at week's end. PEANUT harvest was slightly behind the five year average as growers waited for the rain to subside. Ninety-two percent of the TOBACCO STALKS had been destroyed by the end of last week. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Report APPLE harvesting was 70 percent completed as the crop remained in mostly good condition. PECAN harvesting was 5 percent completed at week's end. Livestock, Pastures and Small Grains Report LIVESTOCK condition remained mostly good. PASTURE condition changed little last week despite the rain. Small Grain seeding was further delayed last week as WINTER WHEAT, RYE, OATS and BARLEY seedings were running well behind normal. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Apples Harvested 70 71 74 :Sorghum Matured 89 89 90 Barley Planted 8 27 27 :Sorghum Harvested 57 58 67 Corn Harvested 99 97 98 :Soybeans Pods Set 99 100 99 Cotton Open Bolls 83 90 83 :Soybeans Turning Color 53 50 56 Cotton Harvested 16 22 19 :Soybeans Leaves Dropped 20 20 23 Oats Planted 5 23 23 :Soybeans Mature 11 13 12 Peanuts Harvested 40 44 43 :Sweetpotato Harvested 36 48 50 Pecans Harvested 5 12 13 :Tobacco Stalks Dest. 92 89 91 Rye Planted 8 24 23 :Winter Grz. Planted 30 51 46 Sorghum Turned Color 100 100 100 :Winter Wht. Planted 10 29 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Condition Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Very Excel- Very Excel- Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent :Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Percent -- -- Percent-- Apples 0 5 30 65 0 :Peanuts 1 3 26 62 8 Cotton 0 5 33 60 2 :Sorghum 0 4 14 81 1 Livestock 0 4 27 65 4 :Soybeans 6 15 40 36 3 Pastures 7 32 44 15 2 :Sweetpotato 0 0 51 49 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending October 9, 2005 Sunny weather on Monday was quickly replaced by clouds and showers late Tuesday. Tropical Storm Tammy crawled northward along the Florida coast before making landfall Thursday near the Georgia-Florida border. Winds gusted to 59 mph at Edisto Beach. Several beachfront homes were destroyed or damaged due to storm driven tides and overwash. Rainfall amounts of between 6 to 12 inches produced widespread flooding which disrupted travel. Georgetown measured a reported event total of 12.71 inches. Additional heavy rains shifted to the Piedmont and Upstate on Friday. Parts of Spartanburg County received up to 14.50 inches of rain during the three days of downpours. A brief window of drying under partly sunny skies was observed on Saturday afternoon before clouds and scattered thundershowers returned Sunday. For the period, the state average temperature was five degrees above normal. The highest official temperature reported was 89 degrees at the Jamestown on October 8. The lowest official temperature reported was 53 degrees at Cheraw on the morning of October 3. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 6.57 inches at Gray Court ending at 8:00 a.m. on October 8. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 4.4 inches. SOIL: 4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 77 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near or above normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 76 degrees. Precipitation Weekly Jan 1 Deviation Total Total From Avg Greer 4.12 44.5 4.7 Columbia 2.24 38.8 -1.2 Orangeburg 3.65 34.9 -4.9 Charlotte, NC 4.13 33.0 -1.4 Augusta, GA 3.01 41.6 5.1 Florence 2.84 36.0 -0.7 Myrtle Beach 7.82 35.8 -1.4 Charleston 3.64 37.8 -5.9 Savannah, GA 5.96 39.7 -2.6 Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday. Contact Information: Robert A. Graham, Director Jean Besco, IT Specialist Phone: 803-765-5333 E-mail: nass-sc@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/sc