fl-crop-weather Week ending March 15, 1998 Released 4:00 P.M. March 16, 1998 WEATHER SUMMARY: Severe storms crossed over the State at the beginning of the week of March 8 through 14. The storms brought significant rains with strong winds and tornados damaging private property and tumbling trees in some central and southern counties. Rainfall for the week totaled from one inch to almost two and a half inches at almost all stations. Very cold tempera tures followed the storms with freezes occurring across the northern half of the State. Temperatures for the week averaged seven to nine degrees below normal with many record low temperatures set or equaled on the mornings of March 11 and 13. FIELD CROPS: Topsoil moisture in the southern Peninsula is mostly adequate with the rest of the State mostly surplus. Flooding is a problem in many areas of the State. Freezing temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday damaged the early transplanted tobacco fields. The north Florida blueberries were also damaged by the freezing temperatures on March 11 and 14. Sugarcane growth is normal. Wet weather has delayed the closing of the sugarcane mills for the season. Some tobacco plant beds have been flooded. Wet fields will delay the start of the tobacco transplanting season in most areas. In some areas roads have been washed out. Corn planting will start as soon as farmers can get into the fields. Field preparations for spring planted crops is being delayed by wet conditions. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 0 0 0 0 Short 0 0 0 0 Adequate 43 40 40 23 Surplus 57 60 60 77 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: The northern Panhandle and central areas reported pastures in low areas were in poor condition due to flooding. Winter grains for grazing in the north showed poor growth due to wet conditions. Ranchers were feeding hay to the cattle where pastures were flooded and feeding was compli cated as some roads are washed out. However, pastures in the southwest were in good shape thanks to the rain of the past weeks. Cattle were mostly in poor to good condition. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 0 20 0 5 Poor 35 30 25 20 Fair 40 35 30 55 Good 25 15 40 20 Excellent 0 0 5 0 CITRUS: This was the coldest week of the winter with low temperatures in the mid to upper 30s in the northern part of the citrus belt. There were a few areas with light to moderate frost however, there was very little if any damage to citrus trees and new bloom. Moisture is still adequate to surplus in most counties. New growth and bloom bud development were generally held in check during this week by the cold nighttime temperatures. Harvest of early and midseason oranges is down to the last few hundred thousand boxes. Picking of Valencia oranges is increas ing in all areas for both fresh and processing. Movement of seedless grapefruit is most active on the lower east coast. Harvest of Temples and Honey tangerines is slowing as supplies are running low. Caretakers are cutting cover crops prior to harvest and spring herbiciding. Hedging and topping of harvested groves continues in all areas. A few sprays for various problems are being applied before full open bloom. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Mar 1 Mar 8 Mar 15 Navel oranges 16,000 2,000 0 Early & Mid oranges 4,080,000 2,271,000 821,000 Valencia oranges 2,111,000 2,860,000 5,757,000 All grapefruit 2,456,000 2,920,000 2,516,000 Tangerines 6,000 4,000 1,000 Honey tangerines 180,000 179,000 135,000 Temples 244,000 192,000 97,000 Tangelos 5,000 2,000 0 VEGETABLES: Cloud cover kept temperatures above harmful levels over most of the southern vegetable regions. Vegetables harvested during the week include snap beans, cabbage, carrots, celery, sweet corn, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, parsley, peppers, potatoes, radishes, squash, strawberries, and tomatoes. SNAP BEANS: Dade--Harvesting continues. Beans look fair in fields about ready to pick and good in young fields. Some growers are still planting but are slowing down fast. Quality is fair to good and yield is improving. East Coast--Young fields are making slow growth and development. Harvest volume is light. Quality and color are good after grade out. Light planting is underway for the spring crop. Southwest--The crop is in fair to condition. Growth and development was slow to normal. Planting is steady. Harvesting remains steady with fair to good quality and size available. Everglades--Crop is in generally good condition. Prospects look good with picking to begin soon. West Central-- Planting is almost complete. Crop condition is fair with growth and development slow to normal. CABBAGE: Dade--Cabbage is being cut on a weekly schedule with good quality and yield. West Central--Crop condition is fair. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvest is steady. Heads have fair quality and color. Size is small to medium, a few large. Southwest--Crop condition is good. Growth and develop ment are normal. Harvest is steady. Central, Hastings--Harvest is steady. Heads are sizing well. No major damage to the cabbage crop from the freezing temperatures on March 11. CARROTS: Digging continues. Packout yields are well below normal due to heavy cullage. Quality of packout is good. Yields are reduced but may increase if rains hold off. CELERY: Everglades--Crop condition is mostly good. Plants continue recovering from earlier hail damage. Harvest is gaining. Zellwood--Crop is in mostly good condition. Celery can stand the wet soils better than most crops. Harvest is expected to begin in about three weeks. SWEET CORN: Dade--Corn harvest remains active. Good volume and quality are expected over the next four weeks. East Coast--Older fields are slow to mature due to continued cool and wet weather. Pulling continues. Quality is mostly good from white and yellow varieties. Everglades--Crop condition is mostly good. Volume is increasing. Zellwood--Growers are trying to plant but are behind schedule. Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Planting is steady. Growth and development are slow to normal. CUCUMBERS: East Coast--Crop conditions in older fields are variable. Some of the oldest plantings are being picked over with variable sizes and quality available. Younger fields are showing improved growth and development. Light harvest volume should slowly increase weekly. Planting is very active for the spring crop. Southwest--Crop condition is fair. Growth and development are slow. West Central--Crop condition is fair. Planting is steady. Growth and development are slow to normal. EGGPLANT: East Coast--Older fields on decline are being picked over and cleaned up. Some blocks are providing variable quality, color, and sizes. A light harvest volume of fancy and choice are being cut. Regular and Italian varieties are available. Some light planting is underway for the spring crop. Southwest-- Crop is in fair to good condition. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvest is steady with fair quality. Dade-- Eggplant harvest is light. Yield is low with some fruit scaring. Volume will be low for the balance of the season. West Central-- Condition is fair. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvest of a small acreage is steady. Quality is fair. Sizes are small to medium. ESCAROLE/ENDIVE: Everglades--Plant growth is good. Harvest is active. Market is mostly good. Zellwood--Harvest continues as weather permits. Quality is mostly average. LETTUCE: Everglades--Harvest is active and gaining. Some light wind damage and soil in leaves was reported. Quality is fair to good. Zellwood--Harvest is gaining when weather permits with mostly good quality available. PEPPERS: Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Picking is steady. Quality is fair to good. East Coast--Young fields are starting to slowly improve with slow growth and development. Older fields continue to provide limb fruit. New blocks/fields picked from crown providing mostly good quality with reduced yields. Crop conditions remain quite variable in older fields. Harvest volume is moderate for green Bells. Volume harvest is light on reds and specialty peppers. Planting continues for the spring crop. West Central--Planting is complete. Crop condition is fair with slow to normal growth and development. POTATOES: Southwest--Crop is in fair to good condition. Growth and development are slow to normal. Potato harvest is steady. Potatoes harvested are mostly of good quality. Dade-- Heavy rains on March 8 and 9 flooded fields again. Potatoes are being harvested on a weekly schedule. Harvest is gaining with good quality but size is off a little. Volume should be fair for next two weeks, then improve. West Central--Crop is in poor to fair condition. Growth and development are slow to normal. Some fields look better than others. It is now a wait and see game at this point. Hastings--The potato crop received only minor damage from the freezing temperatures on March 11. Potato planting is virtually complete. The potato plants are growing slowly with poor color due to the cool, wet conditions. RADISHES: Everglades--Digging continues. Some light water damage reported to some fields. Zellwood--Harvesting continues but mostly as a salvage operation due to the rains. SQUASH: Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Planting continues to wind down. Picking is steady with fair to good quality available. East Coast--Older fields are declining, picked over, and cleaned up. A light harvest continues with zucchini and yellow squash. Quality has improved from previous weeks. Light planting is underway for the spring crop. Young fields are showing slow growth and development. Dade--Squash volume was down some but new fields coming into production should help improve volume. Harvested quality was fair to good. Young fields look good. STRAWBERRIES: Plant City--Better weather continues to boost strawberry development. Cooler temperatures this past week helped growers catch up on their harvest and improved the berry quality. Both volume and quality improved. Palmetto- Ruskin--Some U-Pic very active with fair sizes available. TOMATOES: Southwest--Overall condition is fair to good. Heavy rain Sunday night did little damage to most fields. Plant growth was slow and fruit set remained spotty due to the wind and rains. Harvest is steady with some spring plantings starting. Grade out is above normal. A good supply of all sizes is available. Quality is fair to good. East Coast--Crop conditions in older fields are mostly good to fair. Crown picks are providing variable quality and sizes. Younger fields are showing slow growth and development due to the cooler weather. Harvest volume was mostly moderate from all picks. Spraymen are busy trying to control the spread of disease. Workers are busy on clean up, staking, pruning, tying young fields, laying plastic and transplant ing for spring crop. Dade--Crop looks fair as high winds continue to blow vines. Harvest is active . Quality is good but some fruit was scarred from the bad weather. Volume is expected to be good for the rest of the season. Palmetto-Ruskin--Overall crop condi tion is fair but continues to improve. Planting is mostly complete. Fruit is setting slowly and is small in size. CHERRY TOMATOES: Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition. Growth and development are slow to normal. Harvest remains steady with mostly good quality. Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is fair. Picking continues with fair to good quality. PLUM TOMATOES: Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Growth and development are slow to normal. Picking remains steady with fair to good quality. Palmetto-Ruskin--The crop is in fair condition. Planting is winding down. Growth and develop ment are slow to normal. WATERMELONS: Southwest--The crop is in fair condition. Planting continues to wind down. Growth and development are slow to normal. West Central--Planting is winding down. Crop condition is fair with slow to normal growth and development.