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– Rain: Even though rainfall decreased during week 31, the total cumulative precipitation was still very high at 107 mm (4.2 inches). We had rain every day of the week, bringing July to an end as the rainiest month of the year!

– Temperature: Air temperatures remained stable. The minimum temperature reached 23.1°C (73.6°F) and the average remained at 26.4°C (79.4°F).  Soil temperature did decrease to 25.8°C (79.8°F) – 0.8°C lower than last week due to the rain. Solar radiation continued low with dense cloud cover for most of the week, while the relative humidity was high at 89.1 %.

– Observations: We have had four consecutive weeks of continuous rain and the last two brought intense downpours that caused infrastructure and crop damage in  the Northern and Atlantic regions of Costa Rica; possibly negatively affecting the quality of the fruit in some areas. Fortunately in our farms we did not suffer infrastructure damage, although the condition of our farm roads is slowing down the harvest. Overall the quality of our fruit continues at a very good level!  Two weeks ago we started the process of “field gouging” and we are certain that the fruit arriving next week will have the appropriate crown length.

– Rain: Even more rainfall came upon us during week 30 at the source – total accumulated precipitation was at 197 mm (7.8 inches). Wow! Rather excessive no matter where you are!

– Temperature: Air temperatures were not affected even with all the rain we got. The minimum air temperature reached 23.5°C (74.3°F) and the average air temperature remained at 26.5°C (79.6°F).  Soil temperature did decrease to 26.6°C (79.8°F) – half a degree lower than last week due to the excessive rain. Solar radiation was very low throughout the week with dense cloud cover almost every day and high relative humidity at 90.7 %.

– Observations: Fruit quality is at a good level, it is the excessive rainfall that is raising its ugly head and may make us accelerate the fruit harvest before the fruit reaches full physiological maturity in order to avoid water spotting.

– Rain: Well distributed showers during Week 29 at the source resulted in approximately 46 mm (1.8 inches) of rainfall – a continuation of the prior week.

– Temperature: The minimum air temperature continued without variation at 23.3°C (74°F). The average air temperature remained at 26.9°C (80.4°F) and our average soil temperature registered 27.1°C (80.7°F). Solar radiation was low throughout the week, while relative humidity remained nearly identical to last week at 86.6 %.

– Observations: Historically, July is one of the wettest months of the year and this one is not the exception. To date, this rain does not seem to be affecting the quality of our fruit. We will be vigilant in case the weather makes a turn for the worse as The Meteorological Institute of CR has issued warnings of increased precipitation in the coming weeks. We will monitor this closely and make decisions regarding harvest age and other cultural practices to mitigate any negative consequences. Industry volume is reported to be limited and the market has definitely strengthened, showing signs of limited supply. We expect our supplies to remain at a level that will keep us very close to our committed volumes.

– Rain: Week 28 brought our total precipitation up to 42.6 mm (1.7 inches) – a rather significant increase in comparison to the prior week. Intense showers were felt through mid-week and then turned dry by the end of the week.

– Temperature: The minimum air temperature continued an upward trend to 23.3°C (73.9°F) but the average air temperature remained at 27.1°C (80.8°F); our average soil temperature registered 26.9°C (80.4°F). Solar radiation was low during the first half of the week but increased significantly during the weekend, while relative humidity increased to 86.6 %.

– Observations: We can summarize that the increase in precipitation had a beneficial effect on quality. The natural fruit harvest is practically finished and we start the post NDF harvest blues with a certain decline in volume. However we feel that our deficit will definitely be less than in prior years, as we have learned to balance the quantity of plants exposed to natural flowering events with care to have enough plants to be forced for their planned harvest cycle.

– Rain: Week 27 was quite dry at the source with only 10 mm (0.4 inches) of rain – a welcome respite from the previous two weeks.

– Temperature: The average air and soil temperatures increased slightly this week due to the good climate. The average minimum air temperature was 22.5°C (72.6°F) and the average air temperature increased to 27.3°C (81.1°F) – almost one degree Celsius higher than last week. The average soil temperature also increased to 27°C (80.6°F).  Solar radiation was high, while relative humidity decreased to 83.9 %.

– Observations: Quality in general continues at The Perfect Pineapple level – there is no doubt that the break in the weather has had positive results, it is even allowing us to increase age at harvest and try to fill the post NDF volume gap. The post NDF volume drop is already being felt in the US market with all sizes in strong demand. Historically July and part of August are months of low volume,  but we all seem to be managing the natural flowering period much better and the pronounced peaks of 3 years ago are much more reduced.

– 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.

– Rain: Complete turnaround in our weather with showers of moderate to medium intensity almost every day! We had an accumulated precipitation of 52.6 mm (2 inches).

– Temperature: Minimum and average air temperatures remained very similar to the prior week. The average minimum air temperature reached 24°C (75.2°F), while the average air temperature was 27.9°C (82.2°F). The average soil temperature decreased to 27.9°C (82.3°F) probably due to the rain. The sunlight varied from medium to low intensity throughout the week, while relative humidity continued low and identical to last week at 86 %.

– Observations: Everyone around the world is talking about the changing weather patterns and it seems that we are no exception. May and June are usually rainy months in the Caribbean coast of Central America, but this year both months have been characterized as rather dry. Usually we get our “Indian Summer” in late June and early July but the weather experienced during Week 25 is the inverse!