fl-crop-weather Week ending November 22, 1998 Released 4:00 P.M. November 23, 1998 WEATHER SUMMARY: Warm and mostly dry conditions continued during the week of November 15 through 21. Light scattered showers brought about a half inch of rain to the Homestead area and at least a half inch to the Immokalee region. Some southwestern fields remain under water. Palmetto-Ruskin reported from none to two inches of rain falling over the area. Quincy reported at least three tenths of an inch of rain falling during the week. Rainfall at the major stations ranged from none at Tampa to over a half inch at Pensacola. Temperatures averaged five to eleven degrees above normal with daytime highs mostly in the 70s and 80s. Nighttime lows were mostly in the 60s and 70s with several stations recording at least one low in the 50s. FIELD CROPS: Topsoil moisture throughout the Panhandle and northern Peninsula is short to adequate with areas of very short moisture. The moisture in the southern part of the Peninsula is adequate to surplus. Dry weather is delaying small grain and forage emergence and growth in areas of the Panhandle and northern Peninsula. Winter wheat for grain is being planted. Harvesting of cotton is active. Haying is virtually complete. Sugarcane harvest and planting are active. Peanut harvest is complete. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 8 9 1 4 Short 17 24 22 25 Adequate 64 57 54 58 Surplus 11 10 23 13 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: Winter grazing small grains in the Panbhandle were still slow in emerging and growth was slow. Moisture was needed for grass growth. In the north central counties there was very little grass left and the soil was dry. In the west central counties, grass growth was seasonally very slow. Rye grass for winter forage was being planted. In the southwest, some low lying areas were still under water. Statewide, cattle and calves were in poor to good condition. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 0 5 0 0 Poor 10 20 5 5 Fair 55 40 45 45 Good 35 35 50 50 Excellent 0 0 0 0 CITRUS: Record-high temperatures for November were recorded throughout the citrus belt this week. Highs were in the upper 80s with lows in the upper 60s to 70s. A cool front finally made it to the central and southern part of the State by Sunday bringing milder weather. There were only a few scattered showers associated with the front. Rain is needed in all areas. Growers and caretakers are continuing to irrigate to maintain good tree condition and to help advance fruit maturity. There is very little new growth in those counties which have had limited rain. Harvest is increasing slowly for both fresh and processing. Picking crews are moving Navels and other early oranges, early tangerines, tangelos, and white and colored grapefruit. Several processing plants are now running both grove-run fruit and packing house eliminations. Caretakers are cutting cover crops that have grown tall and out of control. Spot spraying continues in a few fresh fruit groves. Dead tree removal and resetting has been reported in a few southern groves. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Nov 8 Nov 15 Nov 22 Navel oranges 236,000 248,000 346,000 Early & Mid oranges 928,000 1,925,000 4,197,000 All grapefruit 853,000 642,000 827,000 Tangerines 188,000 192,000 218,000 K-Early Citrus Fruit 7,000 5,000 2,000 Tangelos 24,000 42,000 58,000 VEGETABLES: Clear weather allowed growers to increase harvesting to meet the holiday demand. Major crops shipped during the week included snap beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, okra, parsley, peppers, pickles, radishes, squash, tomatoes, and watermelons. SNAP BEANS: East Coast--Condition of young acreage is improving. Older fields show effects of recent wind and rain with condition fair. Picking continued. Supply is very light. Dade--Young acreage is in good condition. Planting is very active. Harvesting is increasing with good volume available in about two weeks. Quality and yield are good. Southwest-- Crop condition is fair to good. Planting is slowing seasonally. Picking is steady with fair to good quality available. West Central--Condition is fair. Picking is gaining momentum. Quality and color are fair. Yield is low. Bean sizes are small to medium. North--Harvesting is virtually finished. CABBAGE: West Central--Planting is steady. The crop is in good condition. Crop growth and development are normal. Hastings--Planting is active. The crop is in good condition. Crop growth and development are normal. Dade--Planting is active. Crop is in good condition. CARROTS: All areas--Planting continued. CELERY: Everglades--The warm, dry weather helped plants recover from the recent storm damage. Planting continued. SWEET CORN: Everglades--Harvesting of a light supply continued. Quality is generally good. Zellwood--Picking remained active. Quality is generally good. East Coast-- Planting is increasing slowly as ground dries out. Dade-- Condition is good. Oldest acreage is nearing the tasseling stage of growth. Planting continues at an active pace. Harvesting is expected to begin in two to three weeks. CUCUMBERS, Fresh Market: West Central--Condition is fair. Harvesting is steady but starting to slow seasonally. Quality and color are fair with small and medium sizes available. Yield is low. East Coast--Condition is rated fair to good. Picking remains active with first picks yielding good quality and color. Sizes are variable with a moderate volume available. Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Fall and early winter crop planting is finished. Picking continues at a steady pace. Quality is fair to good. PICKLES: West Central--Crop condition is rated fair. Harvesting is mostly steady but starting to slow seasonally. Quality and color are fair. Sizes are normal. Zellwood, North-- Harvesting continues. Quality is mostly good. Dade--Winter crop planting is nearing the end. Harvesting continues. Quality and yield are good. EGGPLANT: East Coast--The crop is in mostly good condition. Young plants show good growth and development. Cutting of regular and Italian types is active with mostly good quality and color available. Workers are staking and tying young plants. West Central--Condition is fair. Cutting is steady with fair quality and good color available. Sizes are variable. Dade--Crop condition is good. Cutting began with fair quality available. Yield is average. Southwest--The crop is in fair to good condition. Planting of small acreage continues. Picking started with fair to good quality available. ENDIVE/ESCAROLE: Everglades--Harvesting began as fields dried out. LETTUCE: Everglades--Harvesting gained momentum as fields dried out. OKRA: Dade--Crop condition is fair. Harvesting continues with good quality available. Yield is good. PEPPERS: Southwest--Bells are in fair to good condition while other types are in good condition. Planting remains steady. Plants are trying to recover from the recent abundant water with some doing better than others. East Coast--Crop condition is fair to good. Some acreage is showing increased bloom loss and fruit drop from the recent adverse weather. Picking is active with first picks yielding variable quality and sizes. Supply is steady. Workers are laying plastic, transplanting, and spraying to control disease and insects. West Central--Crop condition is rated fair to good. Picking is gaining momentum. Quality, color, and sizes are fair to good. POTATOES: Dade--Planting is back on schedule. The weather is good and the fields dried out. Southwest--Planting is steady. Crop in fair to good condition. Growth and development are slow. Plants are trying to recover from all the water. West Central--Planting is gaining momentum. The crop is in good condition. Growth and development are normal. RADISHES: Everglades--Digging is active with supply expected to increase over the next two weeks. SQUASH: East Coast--Young acreage is in fair to good condition. Plants continue to recover from the effects of the recent adverse weather. Harvesting of a light supply is active. Workers are mowing acreage completely harvested. West Central--Crop condition is rated poor to fair. Picking is steady but starting to slow seasonally. Quality is fair. Sizes are variable. Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Planting and picking are steady. Quality is fair to good. Dade--Picking is active. STRAWBERRIES: Plant City, Palmetto-Ruskin--Condition is fair to good. Picking is gaining momentum. Quality is mostly fair with some fruit damaged by the recent adverse weather. Supply is light. TOMATOES: Southwest--Condition is fair to good. Fruit set and sizing are good. Planting continues at a steady pace. Picking is steady with fair to good quality available. Sizes are running mostly large with some extra large and medium sizes available. Gradeout continues above normal due to scarred and cracked fruit. Volume is increasing seasonally. Quincy-- Picking remains active with some third picks remaining to be made. Supply is moderate to heavy. Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is fair. Picking remains active. Fruit quality is fair with some good quality available. Yield remains low. Sizes are variable. East Coast--Crop condition is variable. Picking continues with mostly light supplies available. Dade--Crop condition remains good. Small fruit is appearing in oldest fields. Planting continues. Picking is expected to begin about mid-December. CHERRY TOMATOES: Palmetto-Ruskin--Condition is fair. Picking is steady. Quality is fair to good. Color is good. Yield remains low. Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Planting and picking are steady. Quality is good. PLUM TOMATOES: Palmetto-Ruskin--Condition is fair to good. Harvesting is steady. Quality, color, and sizes are fair to good. Yield is below usual. Southwest--Crop condition is fair to good. Planting and harvesting remain steady. Quality is fair to good. WATERMELONS: Palmetto-Ruskin--Crop condition is fair to good. Harvesting is steady. Quality is fair to good. Sizes are small and medium with a very limited supply of large available. Southwest--Condition is fair. Cutting is winding down. Quality is fair to good. 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.