– Rain: Another dry week with only 11.4 mm (half an inch) well distributed throughout the week – almost a repeat of the prior week.
– Temperature: The minimum reached 20.9°C (69.6°F) – 1.3°C higher than previous week, but we still had two days with night temperatures below 20°C (68°F). The average temperature also rose to 25.9°C (77.2°F) – 0.8°C higher than during week 8. Soil temperatures were almost identical to last week – 26.2°C (79.2°F) in part due to the low precipitation. Solar radiation continues to be intense during most of the week; the white kaolinite clay “Surround” is being applied continuously as sunscreen!
– Observations: Very low precipitation and an increase in air temperatures characterized week 9. Although the risk of NDF persists with a few nights measuring minimum temperatures that dropped below 20°C, we can safely assume that stress-causing conditions have decreased from prior weeks. Traditionally March brings the transition to warmer days and lower precipitation – what we commonly call the “dry season”, although this year it seems to have started way earlier! The quality and consistency of our fruit is improving; we continue to monitor and place ribbons on NDF fruit but the events that are being inventoried now are showing very low incidence of natural fruit.