– Rain: Dense cloud cover, daily precipitation, and even more intense downpours during week 26 brought a total of 93.2 mm (3.7 inches) of accumulated precipitation.
– Temperature: As could be expected, both the air and soil temperatures decreased significantly this week .The average minimum air temperature reached 22.5°C (72.5°F) – 1.5°C lower than last week, while the average air temperature also decreased to 26.4°C (89.5°F). The average soil temperature decreased as well, to a measure of 26.8°C (80.2°F) – 1.1°C lower than the prior week. We experienced a significant decrease in solar radiation, and relative humidity was 87.9 %.
– Observations: It seems to be official now that there will be no “Indian summer” this year (July is historically one of the rainiest months of the year). Oscar usually reports his participation in the Carnival in Limon during this time frame, but he has not done so leading one to conclude the party must have been a bust due to the weather. The high precipitation of the last two weeks has not affected the quality of our fruit, which continues at a very good level. We will remain vigilant and continue the intensive field sampling work as well as fruit age control to make sure this trend continues. Land preparation is slowed down by this weather, but we “squirreled away” a good inventory of prepared fields during the dry spell to carry us through the rainy season.