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Total rainfall during week #3 was only 18.4 mm – less than a inch and concentrated at the beginning of the week. Low rainfall and high solar radiation were the positive weather variables of the week but low air and soil temperatures continued – meaning that the risk of a stressed induced event of NDF is something that should not be ruled out yet. As scheduled, the farms have began during week #3 identifying the first two events of naturally differentiated fruit that occurred during W46-47 and W48-49. This practice, although labor intensive and costly in itself, will bring definite benefits at the time of harvest. One of the major concerns at harvest time is determining the chronological age of the fruit specifically in fields affected by events of “natural fruit”. One can easily conclude that if we harvest and pack fruit of different ages, we would end up with very extremes of maturity in a box. This was indeed a major problem in years past before we adopted this practice. Now with this identification process, we have improved our quality during these challenging times by assuring the harvest of similar age fruit during the harvest week.

A real roller coaster of a ride is the best way to describe our weather in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica – this week 02, a total of 1 mm of rain was reported which compared to prior week is quite dramatic. While the weather had a very positive change in terms of lower precipitation and more solar radiation a decrease in our minimum temperature may bring an  increase in the risk of a new event of NDF. So far we have identified four NDF events, starting on W46-47 continuing on W48-49 and W50-51 of 2011 and another event on week 01/2012. This possibility of another event on W02 would be considered as a continuation of the event identified in W01/2012. Based on the climatic variables we monitor and believe are the primary causes of plant stress we conclude that events W50-51/2011 and W01-02/2012 have been the most severe  so far. The farms are planning to start the identification program of the “natural” fruit next week using different ribbon colors to identify each event..

Another dramatic turn in our weather experienced during the first week of 2012 – a cold front rolled in and brought total weekly cumulative rainfall of 121.8 mm (almost 5 in.). Proof positive that pineapple production is not a profession for the faint of heart. The significant and negative turn in our weather pattern means that there is a high probability that a new and so far the most severe NDF event of the season occurred. During week #1 of 2012. Heavy rainfall, cloudy days and a significant drop in soil and air temperatures – the perfect formula for the onset of NDF, impacted the Caribbean and Northern pineapple regions of Costa Rica. The severity of this event will only be evaluated some 4 to 6 weeks later. Probably next week we will be able to report on the severity of prior events that occurred at the tail end of 2011.

Precipitation total continued to drop during the last week of 2011 with cumulative rainfall of only 16.6 mm – a little over half an inch. Despite that, December ended as not only the rainiest month of 2011 but also one of the worst of the last seven years. A significant and positive turn in our weather pattern occurred this week. Diminished cloud cover and less rain with more hours of sunlight will improved fruit quality in the coming weeks if this weather pattern were to continue. However the Meteorological Institute has announced a cold front for the first week of the year 2012 that will probably bring heavy rains and low temperatures all over the country. As we end 2011 we cannot say we are out of the woods yet!

The rainfall recorded during Christmas week dropped to 67.2 mm (2.7 in) – not what we call a dry spell but significantly less than prior week and well distributed throughout the week. The reduction in precipitation brought a sigh of relief to those regions of the country most affected by the intense rainfall of the previous week. However, the negative effects that this excess of water has caused in the fruit to be harvested is something we have to deal with during the coming weeks.  Now more than ever rigorous field sampling and careful selection at packing plant level will be emphasized to prevent quality problems on arrival at the market. It is still too early to determine the extent or severity of the NDF events experienced earlier this month.

The relief in precipitation was certainly short-lived and Week 50 takes honors with the heaviest rainfall recorded during 2011 at 335.4 mm (13.2 in) – more than ten times the precipitation recorded the prior week. Amazing that it can go from one extreme to the other in a matter of days. The effects of the previously announced low pressure system seriously affected the whole country during week 50, causing flooding in several parts of the northern, central and southern Pacific regions. On the Caribbean side, the main effect was intense cloud cover, very high humidity, low soil temperatures and very heavy rainfall. Fortunately we didn’t have any flooding in our farms but we can almost surely predict a new NDF event taking place in this week 50. The normal and daily operations of planting, harvesting and all the different tasks performed in a pineapple plantation have suffered and we have had a bear of a time staying on schedule.

Fortunately, total rainfall decreased during week 49 and gave us a much needed respite. The total rainfall reached 31 mm or just a little over an inch. Weather conditions improved enough during the week to brighten our outlook but the Meteorological Institute of Costa Rica has announced a new low pressure system will be hitting the region during the beginning of week 50. We anticipate the onset again of heavy rainfall, dropping temperatures and dense cloud cover.

Dramatic reversal during week 47 with total rainfall registering a five-fold increase to 196 mm (7.7 in) with 100 mm (4 in.) in just one day. Such is life in the tropics. Weather conditions have made a turn for the worse and now the ghost of NDF’s past is rearing its ugly head as the low temperatures and very high precipitation reach our region. The San Carlos and Pital areas are now reporting a first event of NDF of the year having ocurred during the last weekend. We also are worried that these conditions could have caused a similar event in the Caribbean region. We plan to start sampling plants within the next three weeks in order to check the presence of naturally differentiated plants.