– Rain: The same weather pattern continued into week 24 at the source – very hot and dry days. The precipitation registered at our meteorological station was low – total of 15 mm (half inch) concentrated. Increased precipitation is expected next week as per our weather forecast.
– Temperature: The air and soil temperatures remained very stable with only slight variations from the prior week. The average minimum air temperature was 23.6°C (74.4°F). The average air temperature was 27.6°C (81.6°F) and the average soil temperature remained stable at 28.2°C (82.8°F). The sunlight intensity was variable during the week but without extremes, while the relative humidity continued low for our tropical climate – 85.9 %.
– Observations: Our climate remains stable and highly favorable to our land preparation and planting operations. During this transition time between the dry and wet season we must balance fruit quality, harvest volume, and crop age in order to avoid problems due to over/under mature fruit. As we endeavor to remain close to the optimum level, we are presently anticipating the initiation of an age reduction cycle that has a direct impact on brix and translucency. Additionally, we are currently in the peak of the natural fruit harvest and we recognize the need to keep a very strict control of our fruit’s age to achieve the right balance of sugar content and internal maturity.