FLORIDA WEEKLY WEATHER-CROP NEWS Week ending December 28, 1997 Released 4:00 P.M. December 29, 1997 WEATHER SUMMARY: Rain interrupted field work in most northern and central areas and in some southern localities during the week of December 21 through 27 as cold fronts passed over the Peninsula. Palmetto-Ruskin reported only a trace of rain for the week while Dade County had mostly clear weather until Saturday when about a half inch of rain fell. Valparaiso, Daytona Beach, Orlando, and Tampa recorded from about two to over six inches of rain accumulating. West Palm Beach, Miami, Jacksonville, and Key West reported from one third to almost an inch of rain for the week. Temperatures averaged six to nine degrees above normal during the week. Most daytime highs were in the 70s and 80s while most nighttime lows were in the 60s and 70s. Most low temperatures at Jacksonville and Valparaiso were in the 50s while most highs were in the 60s. Daytona Beach and Jacksonville recorded at least one low in the 40s, while Valparaiso recorded at least one low in the 30s. FIELD CROPS: Topsoil moisture is adequate to surplus in the Panhandle, northern Peninsula, and central Peninsula. Southern Peninsula moisture is adequate. Cotton harvest is complete. Sugarcane planting and harvest are active. Rain and clouds have held back small grain growth in some areas. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 0 0 0 0 Short 3 0 0 0 Adequate 67 74 82 87 Surplus 30 26 18 13 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: The fall-seeded winter forage growth has been below average for this part of the season, but is now growing well. Many central area pastures had standing water from recent rains. Supplemental feeding of cattle was active in the northern half of the State. Grass growth was reported slow in the southern half of the State. Cattle were mostly in fair to good condition. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 5 5 0 0 Poor 15 10 0 5 Fair 45 25 35 25 Good 35 55 65 65 Excellent 0 5 0 5 CITRUS: This was generally a wet, soggy, and overcast week in most of the State. Rainfall amounts varied depending on location with some areas exceeding December record amounts. The lower interior was the only area not receiving several days of light continuous rain, only scattered showers. Temperatures were above normal with some cities recording at or near record-high December readings. Virtually all groves are in excellent condition as a result of the moist soils and cool nighttime temperatures. Some early fruit is showing signs of creasing, brown rot, and mold build up as a result of continuous wet conditions. Some fresh fruit operations have had to reduce production hours due to the rains and unacceptable fruit conditions. Most processors have been running all of the fruit they can get. Caretakers had a very light week with most activities limited due to the weather and holidays. Some growers are mowing prior to harvesting and for fire protection. Some fresh crop Temples have been sprayed for mites and scab. Some wet areas have had ditch maintenance for water control. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Dec 13 Dec 21 Dec 28 Navel oranges 682,000 474,000 158,000 Early & Mid oranges 8,274,000 8,288,000 6,042,000 All grapefruit 1,002,000 975,000 609,000 Tangerines 267,000 216,000 101,000 Temples 2,000 2,000 3,000 Tangelos 250,000 261,000 124,000 VEGETABLES: Most harvesting proceeded on schedule with many southern Peninsula localities escaping heavy rainfall until the end of the week. Vegetables harvested to meet the holiday demand during the week include snap beans, cabbage, carrots, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, okra, parsley, peppers, radishes, squash, Chinese cabbage, strawberries, and tomatoes. SNAP BEANS: Dade, Everglades--Drier conditions helped most plants recover from the recent adverse weather. Condition is rated excellent. Picking remains active with fair quality and good yield. Planting continues with activity to continue until early February. East Coast--Condition is mostly good. Picking of a light to moderate volume of good quality and color continues. Southwest-- Crop condition is rated good. Planting and picking are steady. Quality is good. CABBAGE: Dade--Cabbage fields look good. Harvest is starting. West Central--Wet fields delayed planting and harvest. Crop condition is fair to good. Growth and development are normal. Head quality fair to good and size improving, good color, volume increasing. Central, Hastings--Wet fields delayed planting and harvest. Crop conditions are normal. Growth and develop ment are normal. Harvest is steady. Quality is mostly good. Hastings harvest is steady. Everglades--Harvest is steady. CARROTS: Zellwood--Harvesting of a light supply continues. SWEET CORN: Everglades--Picking is active with generally good quality available. East Coast--Condition is mostly good. Pulling of a light volume remains active. Quality is mostly good. Growers are mowing stalks and discing fields completely picked. Planting of spring crop acreage is beginning. Dade--Virtually all fields have recovered from the recent adverse weather. Harvesting of acreage for the local market is producing good ears. Picking for out-of-state shipments is expected to begin around mid-January. CUCUMBERS: East Coast--Condition is rated fair to mostly good. Picking remains active with a mostly light volume of good quality and color available. Workers are mowing fields completely harvested. Southwest--Crop condition remains fair to good. Harvesting continues to slow with fair to good quality available. Planting is slowing but activity is expected to increase in a few weeks when growers start to plant spring crop acreage. West Central--Crop condition is fair. Most growers have completed fall crop harvesting although a light volume of fair quality remains available. Sizes are small and medium. Color is fair. Dade--Pickle picking remains active. Quality and yield are good. EGGPLANT: East Coast--Crop condition is good. Harvesting of a light volume remains active. Quality and color are very good with mostly fancy and a few choice grades available. Southwest-- Condition is good. Harvesting is steady. Quality is good. Volume is light. Planting is winding down. Dade--Cutting continues with fair quality available. Some fruit scarring caused by recent adverse weather is appearing. Yield is good. West Central--Cutting is completed. ESCAROLE/ENDIVE: Zellwood, Everglades--Harvesting is steady. Quality is generally good. LETTUCE: Everglades, Zellwood--Harvesting of a light supply continues. OKRA: Dade--Condition is good. Picking of a light volume continues. PEPPERS: Southwest--The crop is in good condition. Planting is steady. Harvesting of good quality and yield is steady. East Coast--Condition is rated good. Harvesting of a moderate volume of green Bells is active. Crown picks of green Bells are yielding very good quality and sizes. Growers are picking a moderate volume of red Bells with good quality and sizes packed. A light volume of specialty varieties remains available. Workers are transplanting spring crop acreage and mowing acreage completely harvested. West Central--Condition is fair. Harvesting is slowing seasonally. Quality, sizes, and color are fair to good. POTATOES: Southwest--Crop is in good condition. Planting is winding down. Growth and development are normal. Dade-- Potatoes look good after high winds and cooler, cloudy weather helped them recover from the rains. Some fields have been replanted. Planting is winding down. West Central--Crop is in fair condition. Planting delayed by wet field conditions. Growth and development are normal. Hastings--Growers are starting to plant potatoes. RADISHES: Zellwood, Everglades--Digging remains active. Quality is good. SQUASH: Southwest--Crop condition remains good. Harvesting of a light volume continues at a steady pace. Quality is good. Planting remains active. East Coast--Crop condition is rated mostly good. Cutting of a mostly light volume of fancy and medium sizes remains active. Quality and color are good. Dade-- Fields are recovering well from recent heavy rainfall with young acreage rated good. Picking continues. Quality is fair. Yield is average. Planting is active and is expected to continue until February. West Central--Harvesting is completed. STRAWBERRIES: Palmetto-Ruskin, Plant City--Crop condi tion is rated good. Harvesting is increasing seasonally although some picking slowed for the holiday. Quality and color are good. Sizes are variable. Volume is increasing. Dade--U-Pic harvesting is slowly gaining momentum with all fields expected to be open by the first week in January. Yield is low. Quality is good. TOMATOES: Southwest--Condition is good. Planting and harvesting remain steady. Volume is at the peak level. Yield is good. Light rainfall over the past three weeks has caused virtually no damage to fruit quality. East Coast--Condition is good. Harvesting is active with good quality available. Packout is good. Dade--Crop condition is rated very good to excellent. Planting is nearing the end. Picking is slowly increasing. Volume is expected to be light over the next few days then start increasing in the first ten days of January. Quality is very good. Yield and packout are good. Palmetto-Ruskin--Condition is fair. Picking is slow with most acreage completely harvested. Quality is fair. Growers continue to prepare land for spring crop planting. CHERRY TOMATOES: Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is fair to good. Harvesting is active. Quality is fair to good. Southwest--Crop condition is good. Harvesting is steady. Quality and yield are good. Planting is slowing seasonally. PLUM TOMATOES: Southwest--Condition remains good. Harvesting of good quality and yield continues at a steady pace. Planting is steady. Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is fair. Picking is nearing the end with fair to good quality available. Sizes and color are fair. WATERMELONS: Southwest--Cutting is nearly completed. Quality is fair.