Wet and relatively warm weather has been the story throughout the state for the past week. Over the past 7 days, the Northern part of the state received as much as 5 inches of rain throughout the region. Both the central and southern regions received an average of 1.5 inches of rain. Temperatures up and down the state ranged from the upper 50s to mid 60s.
Bloom progression has accelerated with the warm weather. Observers have reported trace amounts of bloom in the early blooming Sonora variety. Buds in most varieties have broken through their protective scales as trees continue come out of dormancy. This includes the late blooming Butte and Padre varieties.
Overlap appears strong within individual orchards though it is still too early predict effective overlap.
Throughout the state growers are dealing with saturated soils and the limitations associated with those conditions. Still saturated from the previous storm, wet ground has limited the amount of work that can be done in the orchards. Weather forecasts call for partly cloudy to sunny skies and temperatures into the mid 60s through the middle of next week. Growers are planning to use this break in the weather to apply fungicide sprays early next week. Many growers have already scheduled aerial applications to begin next week in areas where they are unable to get into their orchards. Beekeepers have been working hard to get hives placed during breaks in the weather.
Due to the progression of bloom, we plan to begin regular bloom reporting next week.