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o Some drizzles noted as well as moderate to heavy downpours managed to accumulate 56mm (2.2 inches) of rainfall.
o Air and soil temperatures were reported to be lower this week in our region.
o The average minimum temperature reached 23.6° Celsius degrees (74.5°F)
o The average air temperature remained stable at 27.6°C (81.7°F)
o The soil temperature remained stable reaching 28.4°C (83.2°F)
o Solar radiation was moderate during the week.
o The relative humidity increased to 88.9%.
o Large fruit (4,5 and 6 counts) now at 52.1% and 5 counts increased to 20.4% of our harvest.
o This week the fruit with a harvest age of 21 WAF represented 61.1% of the total and the remaining 38.9% was fruit of 20 WAF.
o Crownless fruit volume increased to 12.6% of the total packed.
o The sugar content of our fruit remained at a very acceptable level. It is very important to mention that the predominance of fruit with a brix between 13.5 and 15.5 reached 77.3% of the sample.
o The variability between sample fruit was found below 1 in all farms.
o The volume of fruit with psi less than 2.7 was 14.6% of the sample, the average firmness declined slightly. The minimum was 2.4 psi; the average reached 3.1 psi and the maximum was 4.1 psi.
o Supply volumes for week 38 arrival are expected to improve compared to previous weeks.
o In terms of the amount of rainfall, this week was very similar to the previous ones. However, the soil preparation was interrupted due to torrential rains this week. Fortunately, no major rainy episodes are expected during week 38 in our Caribbean region. It is usually normal that between mid-September and mid-October, the climate in our region becomes a little dryer, giving rise to the second dry period of the year. This is very convenient in our operation since it allows us to complete the annual soil preparation program for the new pineapple harvest. Although the firmness of our fruit is somewhat low, the rest of the fruit quality characteristics continued according to our standards.