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– Rain: Dry spell continues with only 12 mm (close to half an inch) of precipitation registered.

– Temperature: More of the same as prior week  – minimum temperature reached 23°C (73.4°F) while the average reached 27.7°C (81.9°F). The soil temperature reached 27.6°C (81.6°F). Relative humidity decreased to 82.8% due the low rainfall during the last two weeks. The week as a whole was quite hot, and solar radiation was intense during most of the days.

– Observations: November has brought very little precipitation, high solar radiation, and stable air/soil temperatures; weather conditions are very favorable for the cultivation of good quality pineapple! Cold fronts from the north have been absent and this is reducing the risk of an early NDF event that usually comes between weeks 45 to 46 of every year.

– Rain: Intermittent and light showers during the week brought total precipitation to 11.8 mm (half an inch). A rather dry week!

– Temperature: Very stable air day and night temperatures as well as soil temperature. Minimum temperature reached 23°C (73.4°F) and the average reached 26.9°C (80.5°F). The soil temperature reached 27.2°C (81°F), while the relative humidity increased to 86.9%. Although the week was quite hot, solar radiation intensity ranged from moderate to low due to increased cloudiness typical of this transitional period from dry to wet.

– Observations: Usually the dry season ends by the first half of October but this year the entire month has had low rainfall, which is rather favorable by allowing us to advance in our soil preparation. Most importantly, it has made it easy to keep up all of our agricultural practices and also enhanced the quality of our fruit! Our temperatures remain on the higher end of the scale so the threat of the stress-causing cold fronts is being delayed.

– Rain: A significant change in our weather came about during week 42 at the source, with a total cumulative rainfall of 40.4 mm (1.6 inches) concentrated from the beginning to mid week. The weekend was relatively dry.

– Temperature: We experienced a slight decrease in air and soil temperatures this week. The minimum temperature reached 22.8°C (73°F), the average registered 27.2°C (81°F) and the soil temperature was 26.9°C (80.5°F). Relative humidity remained rather stable at 84.6%, while solar radiation was variable with some days of normal/high intensity. However, in general we can predict a low risk of sunburn and corky fruit.

– Observations: Based on historical data, the precipitation after week 42 should increase and the soil and night air-temperatures start to decrease as we approach the period of natural flowering with stressful occurrences.

– Rain: We could not ask for better weather during Week 41 – mostly hot and sunny days with very low precipitation. The rainfall recorded was almost nil (1.8 mm).

– Temperature: It warmed up during the week as the minimum temperature reached 23.3°C (74°F), the average temperature topped at 27.6°C (81.7°F) and the soil temperature evened out at 27.2°C (81°F). Relative humidity was identical to last week at 84.6%, while solar radiation was intense at the beginning of the week but decreased from the middle towards the end of the week.

– Observations: True to form, October continues with perfect weather for the cultivation of pineapples. We do not expect any production or quality challenges in the short term, as conditions should remain stable through and after the Limon Carnivals that will take place this weekend.

– Rain: Total precipitation registered  during the week was  34 mm (1.3 inches),  concentrated on the first day of the week while the rest of  the week was relatively dry – very typical for this time of the year!

– Temperature: The average air day and night temperatures were similar to those of the previous week. Minimum temperature reached 23°C (73.4°F) while the average was recorded at 27.3°C (81.2°F). The soil temperature was slightly lower – 26.9°C (80.5°F). Relative humidity was also very similar to last week at 84.6%. Although the week was quite hot, the solar radiation intensity ranged from moderate to low due to increased cloudiness.

– Observations: During this time of the year we experience extreme opposites in weather conditions at the Pacific Coast and Central Region when compared to the Atlantic Coast. The Pacific Coast and Central Region experience torrential downpours almost daily, while the Atlantic Coast has very dry days and occasional rainy nights (a pattern which extends through mid October). Since both Coasts produce pineapples, it is expected that they will have different production and quality challenges related to their weather pattern.

– Rain: A significant change in the weather pattern came about during week 39 bringing the total cumulative rainfall to 49 mm (almost 2 inches).

– Temperature: We also experienced a slight decrease in air and soil temperatures. Minimum temperature reached 22.9°C (73.3°F), while the average registered 27.3°C (81.1°F) and the soil temperature was at 27.3°C (81.1°F). Relative humidity increased to 84.6% due to the higher rain. Solar radiation was variable with some days of lower and others with higher intensity, but in general with lower risk of sunburn and corky fruit than prior weeks.

– Observations: Reviewing historical data shows us that the precipitation during week 39 is still normal. The Central Valley and the Pacific Coast have had rather excessive precipitation during this time frame, causing certain flash floods on rivers that run into the Caribbean Ocean. One of the rivers on the route to the port of Limon washed away a section of the road and disrupted transit to the port for a few days until it was repaired!

– Rain: Excellent weather conditions prevailed during Week 37! Solar radiation was normal through mid-week, before turning intense towards the weekend. There were low-intensity rains concentrated during the middle of the week with a cumulative total of 14.8 mm (half inch) of precipitation.

– Temperature: Temperature conditions remained very similar to those of the previous week with an increase in the average daytime air and soil. Minimum temperature reached 23.6°C (74.4°F) and the average increased to 28°C (82.5°F). Soil temperature was measured a bit higher, reaching 27.2°C (81°F). Relative humidity decreased to 82.6% – rather low for our tropical weather!

– Observations: Historically, the month of September  comes with abundant sunshine and  little rainfall, making it a very favorable period  for the production of high quality pineapples and very convenient to accelerate  the soil preparation practices. We expect that good weather will continue for the remainder of September and at least through mid-October!

– Rain: We flipped back to a very dry week – cumulative rainfall was almost nothing at 0.2 mm (one tenth of an inch). It turned out to be a very warm week with extremely sunny days.

– Temperature: Air temperature had a significant increase during the week. Minimum temperature reached only 23.8°C (74.8°F) and the average soared to 27.7°C (81.8°F) – almost one degree Celsius higher than last week. Soil temperature remained stable at 26.8°C (80.2°F). Relative humidity decreased to 83.7%, while solar radiation was very high at the beginning and middle of the week but declined towards the end of the week.

– Observations: While the favorable climate continues to provide the conditions for quality pineapple production, we need to put special attention to the timely protection of those fruits that are next to be harvested to avoid sun burn and the recently-budded flowers to prevent the potential risk of fruit deformation (“corky fruit “)   caused by the excessive day temperatures and solar intensity. The farms are spraying “Surround” to the flowers and fruit – the agronomic equivalent to sunscreen (a white natural kaolinite clay protectant).

– Rain: Cumulative rainfall for the week was similar to the prior one – 66.4 mm (two and a half inches) but unlike last week, this was well distributed throughout the week. We had rain every other day!

– Temperature: Air and soil temperatures remained similar to the previous week. Minimum temperature reached 23.2°C (73.8°F) with an average of 26.8°C (80.2°F), while soil temperature remained at 26.6°C (79.9°F). Relative humidity increased slightly to 87.2 %, and solar radiation varied from high to low as the rainy days came and went.

– Observations: Climate during the week was very favorable and very consistent with this time of year – the transition period from rainy to less rain. There is nothing negative to report in relation to the quality of our fruit! We are beginning to see the usual long crowns on the fruit throughout the entire industry in Costa Rica, although we expect our shipments to have less of this defect as we have been “gouging” plants in the field for several weeks now.