Rain: Dry and very hot conditions continued during week 18. Total precipitation was a mere 25.2 mm (1 inch), concentrated during the weekend so the rest of the week was incredibly dry!
Temperature: Both the minimum and the average air temperatures increased during the week but the soil temperature remained stable. The average minimum air temperature reached 22.4°C (72.4°F). The average temperature increased to 27.3°C (81.2°F) – 0.8°C higher than last week, but the average soil temperature continued stable at 27.3°C (81.1°F). Relative humidity was very stable at 84.3 % due to the low precipitation.
Observations: Weather conditions remained stable and well suited for the production of high quality fruit. Additionally, this is the period during which the farms take advantage of good weather and accelerate the process of soil preparation. The NDF harvest is taking place in a normal way and no quality problems are expected. A reliable source, who asked to be anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on the record, stated that volumes of Costa Rican pineapples will continue low and are expected to remain low over the next 8 to 10 weeks.