The Week in Florida Agriculture
July 21-27, 2009
Cotton crop is lagging behind normal growth. Peanut crop is 66 percent pegged, compared with 90 percent this time last year, and the five-year average of 88 percent. Peanut condition is rated 2 percent poor, 20 percent fair, 65 percent good, and 13 percent excellent. Blueberry and blackberry harvests are nearing completion. Soybean crop is in generally good condition. Peanut crop is behind normal growth due to late planting caused by excessively wet fields in the spring. Corn fields are mostly mature and drying down. Harvest of corn silage continues. Drier conditions have allowed second cutting of hay to progress with good yields reported. Field preparations are under way for fall planting of vegetables. Conditions for sugar cane growth are favorable. Seafood: Red grouper, mahi-mahi, amberjack, flounder, wahoo, mako shark, red snapper and yellowfin tuna are plentiful. Vegetables: Locally grown vegetables are being marketed at farmers’ markets and roadside stands. Marketing of okra and avocados continues. Livestock and Pastures: Statewide, pasture condition ranges from fair to excellent with the majority rated good or excellent. Pasture growth has benefited from cooler temperatures and continued tropical showers. Stock ponds and canals are recovering and are reported at near capacity in many areas. The cattle condition continues to show improvement. Eighty percent of the cattle herd is rated good or excellent. Citrus: The weather patterns of recent weeks continue in most citrus-growing areas, with very warm mornings and early afternoons followed by thunderstorms and isolated rain showers. Daily highs reached the low- to mid-90s in all monitored areas on several days. The warmest temperatures recorded were in Immokalee and Sebring at over 96 degrees. Rainfall amounts ranged from one-tenth inch in Ona to two inches in Fort Pierce. Trees and fruit have responded well to the subtropical climate. Some trees have new growth where they were hedged and topped earlier in the year. The new crop fruit is showing various sizes on grapefruit with more consistent sizes on oranges. Grove activity includes fertilizations, nutritional spraying, and general grove maintenance. Some growers are combating canker with additional copper spraying during the rainy season. Growers are using both aerial and ground spraying to reduce the citrus psyllid population that spreads greening.
