Texas Pecan Show Down

We all know August and September are the make it or break it time in pecans. This high-stress period is an old time gun fight — we live or die in 45 days. So much must be done and if not, we can lose the total crop. The key is to have pecans and keep…

We are through the first week of August now and have accumulated record rainfall so far this year. At 50 inches plus we are at our annual rainfall total for an average year. After several years of drier than normal weather we have been caught with our pants down to some degree. There is no…

In advance of Georgia Pecan Month and the upcoming harvest season, celebrity chef and cookbook author Hugh Acheson joined a Georgia Pecan Commission representative in New York City to conduct desk-side editorial meetings with key editors of consumer, food and health magazines. Acheson is the chef and partner of three restaurants, Five and Ten, and…

It is hard to believe that it is mid-August and time to start getting ready for pecan weevils. I feel that with the drought conditions across the state this looks to be a year, again, when producers will really need to pay attention to the potential for drought-delayed adult emergence. I have published this article…

A message delivered to pecan growers throughout the pecan belt in 2012 and 2013 is the pecan market, domestic and foreign alike, wants high-quality pecans. Millions of pounds of pecans grown in 2012 were either left in the field or remain stockpiled in barns, sheds or cold storage today, because they had quality problems and…

The hot, dry, dog days of summer are upon us here in Texas and the grasshopper calls just keep on coming in. Over the past month, I have received more calls on grasshoppers than in any previous year and I’m sure more calls are on the way. These hot dry conditions we are experiencing favor…

Last month I introduced readers to the concept of target markets and discussed some of the pros and cons associated with each market segment. This month I will provide readers with a discussion of the 4 “P’s” of the marketing mix: product, price, place (physical distribution) and promotion, and their counterpart the 4 “C’s”: customer,…

The National Pecan Shellers Association will hold its annual meeting Sept. 5-7 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas. Golf, registration and a reception will comprise activities on Sept. 5. The program lineup on Sept. 6 will feature “Trends in Health, Snacking and Opportunities for Nuts on the Menu,” “Pecans in Gluten-Free, Diabetic Friendly Baking”,…

It’s mid-summer and there’s not much to do in the native grove except for clipping the ground cover. The other day I noticed a large limb had been ripped out of a native tree by the wind (Fig. 1). I thought to myself—“now that mess will be a hot job to clean up”. If you…

Pecan industry: we have a problem. Since our first trials with Roundup (glyphosate) in 1973, we have had a near miracle cure for weed control in pecans. The happy days are over. We now have a rapidly growing, tall weed with a base over 1 inch in diameter that is both hard and fiber-filled. One…

Well known USDA entomologist Walker Louis Tedders, 78, passed away on July 6, 2013, at Heart of Georgia Hospice Inpatient Care after an extended illness. Funeral Services were held July 8 at Perry United Methodist Church, Perry, Georgia. Louis Tedders was born in Albany, Georgia, to the late Walker Louis Tedders Sr. and Thelma Wallace…

Monte Nesbitt and I are grafting 14 acres of young ‘Mohawk’ seedlings with the latest USDA varieties and, in so doing, developing a research orchard for future use. We had good luck last year and this year. In 2013 we started late due to the cool weather and slow bud break, but had good luck…

Water… the basic premise of life, a fact that applies to both animals as well as plants. As anyone involved in the production of pecans knows, water is critical for tree growth and health, and most importantly to ensure nut development and fill. In fact, when most good pecan men are asked to name the…

The Georgia Pecan Commission is turning the heat up this summer with media relations and a new website design. During Heart Awareness Month in February, registered dietitian Kim Beavers, host of Eating Well with Kim, discussed Georgia Pecans and the Commission on Augusta, Georgia, television station CBS 12 (WRDW). Beavers whipped up a Georgia Pecan…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a new tool to help bolster the food industry’s defense measures against an act of intentional food contamination. The Food Defense Plan Builder is a comprehensive, easy-to-use software program designed to help owners and operators of food facilities — ranging from primary production and manufacturing to retail…

Kevin Ivey stands next to his thriving pecan trees, planted 7 years ago. Like many other growers in the El Paso Valley, he has optimistically expanded his pecan acreage in recent years with high hopes for the future. Could that optimism be nipped in the bud, the future outlook not quite so bright as it…

Unfortunately it looks like the Texas pecan crop will be light this year and during this type of season it is hard for producers to invest any more money than they have too. However, tree health has to be maintained and in some cases this means having to treat for any pest or disease that…

Those attending the Tri-State Pecan Conference in Mississippi, June 13-14, who were willing to brave the heat and humidity, were treated to a very informative orchard tour as the starting point of this annual meeting of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas grower groups. Assembling near Raymond, Mississippi, on June 13 for tours, the attendees started at…

Oklahoma Hail Damage TriState 2013 Conference

Over the last several years we’ve gotten used to winning the battle with pecan scab fairly easily thanks to a multi-year drought; however, that has all changed this year. Not only have we had larger amounts of rainfall, but it has been more frequent, which really presents ideal conditions for the development of pecan scab….

The U.S. Pecans team led another trade mission to Canada and into a market where customers are familiar with pecans, but there is still work to be done. The team included Janice Dees from the Georgia Pecan Growers Association, Olivia Carver from the Western Pecan Growers Association and Blair Krebs from the Texas Pecan Growers…

With twin 5-year-old girls in the house, it is a pretty common occurrence for me to be reading a children’s book, including nursery rhymes. Most parents have probably read the poem: March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers. It’s a cute little poem, but after working in agriculture the last few years, a…

Many have grown, worked and studied pecans for 100 years with change coming with each generation. In the last 40 years, a dramatic change has occurred yet many questions continue and new production systems will come. Here are some of our major concerns. Alternate bearing has and will continue to bring unstable prices and profits…

Blacksmith artist R.G. Box of Lubbock, Texas, is pondering the possibility of creating a pecan tree. Considering the fact that he has already made a 6-foot roadrunner, an entire tree is certainly within the realm of possibility and his capability. But to date, his pecan work in the forge has been smaller projects like limbs…