A welcome weekend deluge could help produce a bumper 2011 citrus crop for Australia's Queensland growers, ABC Rural News reports.

Orchards in inland Burnett received over 50mm of rain last weekend, which growers claim has done the world of good.

'With the rain we've been having, we've had a good strong start to flowering a little bit earlier than usual,' managing director of Glengrove Orchards Greg Parr told ABC Rural.

'Over the past week, we've had a big push out with new growth and flowers, and this sort of rain just means that every one of those pieces of fruit will probably stick, which is great.'

Meanwhile, fruit growers in Tasmania had a lucky escape from major frost damage, ABC News reports.

Tasmania's Bureau of Meteorology issued a statewide severe frost warning last night, urging growers to prepare for widespread damage. But this morning growers reported little impact.

Growers have been warned there could be more frosts in the nights to come.

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