fl-crop-weather Week ending January 31, 1999 Released 4:00 P.M. February 1, 1999 WEATHER SUMMARY: The passage of cold fronts over the state brought showers to many localities during the week of January 24 through 30. Rain amounts totaled from traces in mainly the west central area around Bradenton and Tampa, to about an inch and a half or more at Dover, Homestead, and Ona. Immokalee recorded about three quarters inch of rain for the week while Ft. Pierce and West Palm Beach reported about a half inch. Temperatures for the week averaged five to ten degrees above normal at the major stations. Daytime highs were in the 70s and 80s. Nighttime lows were mostly in the 40s and 50s with Miami and West Palm Beach lows averaging in the 60s. Temperatures dipped into the mid-to-upper 30s at Tallahassee and Pierson on at least one morning. FIELD CROPS: Topsoil moisture throughout the Panhandle is adequate. Northern Peninsula topsoil moisture is very short to adequate. Moisture in the southern part of the Peninsula is short to adequate. Tobacco growers are taking care of plant beds. Spring crop land preparation is active. Sugarcane harvest and planting are active. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 2 1 1 1 Short 50 19 49 38 Adequate 48 80 49 61 Surplus 0 0 1 0 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: Supplemental feeding of cattle was active in the northern and central areas. Winter annual pastures were providing some grazing but the recent cold snap and dry conditions have caused slow growth. A good amount of rain during the week helped ryegrass and small grain pastures. Grass was short in some areas. West central pasture showed little growth due to poor growing conditions. Some southwest pastures were being burned. Some ranchers were clearing pasture by bush hogging. Statewide, the condition of cattle and calves was mostly fair. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 5 5 5 0 Poor 35 20 10 15 Fair 45 65 50 70 Good 15 10 35 15 Excellent 0 0 0 0 CITRUS: The weather was warm and dry again this week in most of Florida's citrus belt. The first part of the week many growers and caretakers were irrigating to maintain good tree and fruit condition. On Saturday night and most of Sunday, there were scattered showers covering much of the State. Rainfall amounts were light except in a few isolated spots that recorded around an inch of new moisture. The tropical weather has produced a lot of feathery new growth and swelling bloom buds that were vulnerable to frost or freezing weather. Conditions for harvesting this week were close to ideal with the cool mornings and breezy clear afternoons. Picking crews are actively moving early and midseason oranges to the processors. Grapefruit movement continues busy with most of the movement on the lower east coast. Fresh fruit houses are moving large amounts of oranges, grapefruit, Temples, tangerines and tangelos. Caretakers are cutting cover crops in all areas. Hedging and topping are very active in the central and southern areas. Most growers are bush hogging cut debris from the hedging operations. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Jan 18 Jan 24 Jan 31 Navel oranges 83,000 46,000 65,000 Early & Mid oranges 9,714,000 6,212,000 7,354,000 All grapefruit 1,579,000 1,106,000 1,561,000 Early Tangerines 104,000 26,000 18,000 Honey Tangerines 80,000 100,000 138,000 K-Early Citrus Fruit 8,000 1,000 4,000 Tangelos 236,000 130,000 149,000 Temples 119,000 79,000 110,000 VEGETABLES: Sweet corn harvesting started in the East Coast area. Major crops shipped during the week include snap beans, cabbage, sweet corn, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, okra, parsley, peppers, pickles, radishes, squash, strawberries, and tomatoes. SNAP BEANS: Dade--Condition is improving due to warmer temperatures. Planting remains active with growers to continue through February. Picking is yielding generally good quality. Yield is improving. East Coast--Condition is mostly good. Plant growth and bean development are good. Harvesting remains active with a light volume of good quality and color available. Southwest--Condition remains fair to good. Plant growth and development are slow with plants continuing to recover from the recent bad weather. Planting and harvesting are steady. Quality is fair to good. CABBAGE: West Central--Harvest is steady. Quality is good. Size is small to medium with some large. Cabbage planting is steady. The crop is in fair to good condition. Crop growth and development are normal. Hastings--Harvest is steady. Planting is active. The crop is in good condition. Crop growth and development are normal. Zellwood--All types are available. Harvest is very active. Dade--Cabbage harvest is active. Everglades--Harvest is active. CARROTS: All areas--Harvesting is active. CELERY: Everglades--Harvesting continues. SWEET CORN: Dade--Young fields are in good condition. Picking continues with good quality available. Yield is good with a good volume expected for the rest of the season. East Coast-- The crop is in mostly good condition. Picking is underway with good quality available. Cultivating and fertilizing are active. Everglades--Harvesting is expected to begin in late March. CUCUMBERS, Fresh Market: Southwest--Planting continues. Salvage harvest of a small volume from acreage damaged by the recent cold continues. East Coast--The crop is in mostly good condition. Spring crop planting continues at a slow but steady pace. West Central--The crop is in fair to good condition as spring crop planting gets underway. PICKLES: Dade--Earlier cold winds reduced quality but recovery is expected. Planting for spring crop harvesting is active. West Central--Crop condition is rated fair to good as planting gets underway. EGGPLANT: East Coast--The crop is in good condition. First cuts are providing good quality and color. Producers are harvesting mostly fancy grades. Dade--Crop condition is rated good. Fall crop fields are sprouting new growth for a second crop after being mowed. Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Planting is nearing the end. Cutting is active. Volume is fluctuating with the market. West Central--Condition is fair to good. Planting is steady. ENDIVE/ESCAROLE: Everglades--Harvesting is steady. Quality remains generally good. LETTUCE: Everglades--Harvesting continues. Volume is mostly steady. Quality is generally good. OKRA: Dade--Harvesting of a low volume continues. PEPPERS: Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition. Growers are planting and harvesting at a steady pace. Quality is good. East Coast--The crop is in good condition. First picks of green Bells are yielding large sizes of excellent quality. Limb picks are producing very good quality and sizes. A very good volume of green Bells is available. Harvesting of red Bells and specialty varieties is active. Planting continues. West Central- -The crop is in good condition. Planting is steady. Oxford-- Most land is ready for planting but growers are waiting until the threat of frost passes before planting. POTATOES: Dade--The potato crop looks very good with volume harvest expected to begin March 1. Southwest--The crop is in good condition. Growth and development are normal. Harvest to start in about 2 to 3 weeks. West Central -- The crop is in fair to good condition. Growth and development are normal. Hastings--Planting is active. Growth and development are normal. RADISHES: Everglades, Lake Placid--Harvesting remains active. Quality is generally good. SQUASH: Dade--Young acreage is in good condition. Planting continues. Picking of yellow types continues with good quality and yield. Producers expect a good volume of all types for the rest of the season. East Coast--Young plants are growing and developing well. Zucchini harvesting continues. Quality and color are good. Volume remains light. Workers are mowing and cleaning acreage completely picked. Southwest-- Condition is fair to good. Harvesting and planting are steady. Quality is fair to good. Volume is light. West Central--Spring crop planting is underway. STRAWBERRIES: Plant City, Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is rated fair to good. Picking is steady with fair to good quality and sizes available. Color is good. Dade--U-Pic harvesting is active. Quality and yield are good. Volume is very good. TOMATOES: Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition. Plant growth is slow. Fruit set and sizing are good. Planting is slowing seasonally. Harvesting is steady with a good supply of all sizes available. Quality is good. Gradeout is normal. Producers continue to spray for the control of disease with heavy morning dew and fog hindering containment. Dade- -The crop is in very good condition. Harvesting is active with good quality and yield. A good volume is available for the rest of the season. East Coast--The crop is in fair to good condition. Plant growth and fruit development are improving. Producers are making first, second and third picks. First picks are yielding good quality and sizes. Second and third picks are producing mostly good quality and variable sizes. Workers are laying plastic, transplanting, and cleaning acreage completely harvested. Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is good. Planting is very active with workers staking and starting to make ties as needed. Quincy--The laying of plastic started about two weeks ago. Rainfall over the past few days is slowing some field work. Oxford--Producers finished laying of plastic with transplanting to begin after the threat of frost passes. CHERRY TOMATOES: Southwest--Condition is rated fair to good. Planting of a few acres continues. Harvesting is steady. Quality is good. Palmetto-Ruskin--The crop is in fair to good condition. Planting is steady. PLUM TOMATOES: Southwest--Condition is rated fair to good. Planting is slow. Harvesting is steady. Quality is fair to good. Palmetto-Ruskin--Condition is fair to good. Planting is increasing seasonally. WATERMELONS: Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition. Planting is increasing seasonally. Palmetto-Ruskin-- Crop condition is good. Planting is slowly increasing. North-- Most producers are waiting until the threat of frost passes before planting. To receive this report via e-mail, send an e-mail message to nass-state-releases@news.usda.gov with the following message: subscribe fl-crop-weather. The report will be e-mailed automatically to your e-mail address each week.