US: dry weather accelerates vegetable harvest

Significant rains of one to four inches fell over the panhandle and most northern peninsula localities during the week of Dec. 12 through Dec. 19 with some big bend and northern areas receiving up to seven inches. Alachua reported almost 17 inches for the week with most falling after mid-week. Most central peninsula areas received about a quarter to one inch while most southern peninsula localities recorded only traces of rain, if any, falling during the week.

Cloud cover kept temperatures down with the major stations reporting weekly averages of two to five degrees below normal. Miami recorded a normal average temperature for the week. Daytime highs averaged in the 60s and 70s with a few extreme southern localities reporting at least one high in the 80s. Nighttime low temperatures averaged in the 30s, 40s and 50s with Miami's average in the 60s. Frost occurred in colder spots of the panhandle and northern peninsula.

Field crops report

Sugarcane harvesting continued in the Everglades area. Cotton ginning neared completion in the panhandle. The frequent showers over many of the panhandle areas replenished soil moisture with supplies rated adequate to surplus and with a few pockets of short supplies. Topsoil and subsoil moisture over the northern peninsula improved slightly with moisture supplies rated short to mostly adequate. Soil moisture supplies were rated mostly adequate across the central and southern peninsula with a few spots of short and surplus supplies.

Vegetable report

Mostly dry conditions allowed planting and harvesting to proceed at a rapid pace in the Immokalee, Palmetto-Ruskin, Dade County and most central peninsula areas. Significant rains in the Hastings area at the end of the week slowed some cabbage cutting. Recent adverse weather significantly slowed the celery crop around Lake Okeechobee with no significant amount available until late December. Other vegetables and other non-citrus fruit marketed included snap beans, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, radishes, squash, strawberries and tomatoes with very light amounts of sweet corn, endive and escarole also sold.

Fruit report

Citrus: Rainfall was nominal this past week in most citrus-producing counties. The exception was in Apopka where two inches were recorded. Cooler than average temperatures across the State, along with good horticultural practices will bring some cold hardiness to the trees. Growers put out limited fertilizer, cleaned ditches, sprayed, and repaired irrigation equipment. Fruit growth and maturity is still behind normal and color is reported good on all varieties. Harvesting of early and midseason oranges picked up significantly with four to five million boxes per week being picked for the past two weeks. A larger percentage of grapefruit is being picked for processing this season compared to last season. Other varieties being picked include Sunburst tangerines and tangelos. The majority of the packinghouses and twelve processing plants are open with ten plants running mostly oranges and two processing plants focusing exclusively on grapefruit.

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