Cold storage pecans total 264 million lbs.

According to USDA’s latest cold storage report, there were approximately 264 million pounds of pecans, on an inshell basis, in cold storage at the end of June. That number is reached by converting the 55.624 million pounds of meats to an inshell number and then adding that number to the actual inshell number which is 137.696…

The Texas Pecan Board will hold elections in August to elect 3 board members where current members’ terms are expiring. The Board was established in 1998 after pecan growers throughout Texas voted into effect a one-half-cent-per-pound pecan assessment to provide funds for promotion and research. Nine pecan producers serve on the board. Board members whose…

Ellis Jack Brown, age 79, of Brownwood passed away June 13, 2014 at his residence. He was one of the key employees at the USDA Pecan Field Station in Brownwood, Texas, for many years. Ellis was born Jan. 9, 1935 to Lattie and Alma (Sikes) Brown in Richland Springs, Texas. Working alongside his father at…

The National Pecan Growers Council sent 4 representatives to the Seoul Food and Hotel show in Seoul, South Korea (Republic of Korea) from May 9-17. Rosemary Alexander from the Georgia Pecan Growers Association and Blair Krebs from the Texas Pecan Growers Association were team leaders on the mission and were joined by 2 industry representatives,…

Unexpected rains have been nice across much of the state; that, coupled with a very heavy bloom in native pecan bottoms, is cause for optimism even though a late freeze greatly reduced the crop load in some areas. However, pecan nut casebearer has been quite low to non-existent in many areas. So theoretically we should…

Every year there are isolated reports of walnut caterpillar (Datana integerrima) activity in Texas and so far this year I have received reports from Fort Bend and San Saba counties. Today I traveled to Richmond, Texas in Fort Bend County where there has been significant defoliation of natives and improved cultivars from the first generation….

Previously, I reported that pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Horn) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), growth rates were correlated with a density dependent factor, pecan nuts per adult female weevil (Mount 2013). This relationship suggested that nuts per female weevil would also be related to larval infestations in nuts. Thus, I used nut density data from the previous report,…

I hate to keep records; I would rather go to the orchard and do something rather than record data. However, every night I log all the significant pecan activity in my desk diary and have been doing so for many years. The information though seemingly unimportant at the time could be valuable in the future….

Growers of native pecans are well aware of the need to manage the pecan weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for prevention of unacceptable infestations of weevil larvae in harvested nuts. Previously, I reported on the dynamics of pecan weevil populations in the Mount orchard of 300 acres of non-irrigated river-bottom populated with about 3,000 native pecan trees…

Summer’s almost here and the weather is getting very warm – so it may seem a little strange to some of you to have an article about managing freeze injury. But I think folks from eastern New Mexico and parts of western Texas will consider this to be a very timely topic, as they are…

Forty years ago, when I was just a young new horticulturist with Texas A&M, I received a phone call from Glenn Huddleston, Anderson County Extension Agent, asking if I would help him and a grower decide what to do with a 60-year-old orchard that had not been managed for over 20 years. The answer was…

Pecans in cold storage at the end of March 2014 included 50 million pounds of shelled meats and almost 200 million pounds of inshell pecans. When these two numbers are converted to an inshell total, the inshell equivalent of 310 million pounds remained in cold storage inventories throughout the U.S. That compares with 313 million…

Pecan trees grow every year according to their overall health and growing environment. The gains in the growth of young trees that are one to five or six years old are usually quite obvious, with branches sometimes adding two or more feet of length in one growing season. They add height to their central leader…

Everyone has to do it. Papers pile up on your desk for a few weeks and you have to take some time to straighten up your mess before you get buried under it. As I was sorting through a rather large pile of Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) materials, I realized it had been over…

In an effort to enhance pecan exports to Europe, the National Pecan Growers Council participated in the Alimentaria Trade Show in Barcelona, Spain for the first time in April. Those volunteers who represented U.S. Pecans at this show included Helen Watts of Young Pecan Co., Rett Salopek of 6U Farms in Las Cruces, New Mexico,…

Anyone that has tried to produce pecans, either commercially or as a homeowner will at some time realize the importance of monitoring and managing the pecan nut casebearer, (PNC) Acrobasis nuxvorella Neunzig. The impact from year to year from the larvae of this Pyralid moth can range from 100 percent crop loss by the first…

The National Pecan Growers Council sent a team to represent U.S. Pecans at the Gulf Food Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the end of February. The team included Drew Haas from San Saba Pecan Company, Scott Hudson from Hudson Pecan Company and Blair Krebs, Texas Pecan Growers Association and a project leader for…

Much of the western pecan belt in West Texas, Southeast New Mexico, and Southwest Oklahoma was hit hard by the late season freeze of April 15, 2014. Temperatures as low as 21 degrees F were recorded, and damage was obtained to some trees with only 28 degrees F. Pecans are known for being the last…

A team of 3 represented the National Pecan Growers Council in the U.S. Pecans booth at the recent (April 2-4) SIAL Canada trade show in Montreal. Cindy Wise of Texas Pecan Growers Association, Ben Anthony of Pecan Plantation in Granbury, Texas, and John Handley of South Georgia Pecan Co. in Valdosta, Georgia, participated in this…

When the National Pecan Shellers Association met in Nashville at the end of March, members discussed the 2013 crop and compiled a revised assessment of this past season’s production. NPSA recapped the 2013 U.S. pecan crop at 222.95 million pounds. The state-by-state breakdown was as follows: Alabama 3.00 mil. lbs. Arizona 21.00 mil. lbs. Arkansas…

As I write this, the Southeastern Pecan Growers Association annual convention is going on in Biloxi, Mississippi. Unfortunately, I can’t make it but I’m sure it will be a successful event. The opportunity for growers to get together and discuss pecan production practices is always enlightening. The education received is invaluable. Another important aspect is…

At a recent meeting of the U. S. Pecan Council, its Board of Directors voted to change the official name of the organization. The not-for-profit organization shares that, going forward, the U.S. Pecan Council will be known as the American Pecan Board. President Mike Adams of the American Pecan Board Inc., a pecan grower, released…

The Georgia Pecan Growers Association met for its 49th annual educational conference and exhibition at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, Georgia on March 25 -27, 2014. This year’s show marked a change in schedule with the conference being extended into another day. The events were kicked off with a fundraising golf tournament and reception,…

A new pecan season certainly got off to a rough start for some growers in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma when a late night/early morning freeze did major damage to many orchards on April 14-15. Reports continue to come in regarding the spring freeze event which dramatically impacted western and central areas of Texas, eastern…