Time Marches On

I have just finished reading the first column I wrote for Pecan South. That was March of 2005, 7 years ago. It is interesting to see what has run true with what I wrote and what I was dead wrong about. Sometimes one has to study history to learn what not to do in the future…

Sara Virginia Hines, former executive secretary of the Southeastern Pecan Growers Association, passed away on Nov. 11, 2011 just a few months before she would have been 100 years old. Mrs. Hines was well known within the pecan industry for her energetic and gracious leadership. Her son, Chesley Hines Jr., provided the following obituary, which…

The Georgia Pecan Commission has launched health-focused promotion and education programs to support Georgia’s 2011 fall pecan harvest. The Commission has recently initiated a new campaign to educate consumers about the high content of antioxidants in pecans. “The goal is to motivate consumers about the positive health benefits and the high Georgia Pecan Commission introduces…

The recent booming pecan market has led to a renewal of the pecan industry. Acreage is on the rise and new people are looking to pecans as a crop and as a wise investment. With this, has come a great interest in pecan cultivars, particularly the new ones. I have kept largely silent on this topic…

Results of studies recently conducted in Texas indicate that blackmargined aphids may be showing resistance to the commonly used neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid, which brings us to the purpose of this month’s column: IPM and Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM) of pecan aphids. Pests’ resistance to pesticides has been a major problem since pesticides have existed. Insecticide-resistant…

During 2010 over 45 million pounds of native pecans were harvested in the United States. This production had a value of over $60 million dollars. With an estimated one million acres of native pecan timber, there is a huge potential to increase farm income from managing these trees. Often times, native producers do nothing to…

Selling pecans directly to China or other foreign markets, farfetched for many pecan growers only a few years ago, is now being seriously considered by many. When you are presenting a product and trying to sell at a good price, it is in your best interest to offer to and attract as many potential customers…

A team from U.S. Pecans traveled to China at the end of October to continue promotion of pecans in the Chinese market, particularly in the ice cream, baking and ingredients industries. James Ditmore from New Mexico, Blair Krebs from Texas, Dan Zedan from Illinois, Glenn Honaker from Texas and Odie Dollins from Texas all participated…

New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte joined the New Mexico Pecan Growers Association at its recent 10th annual field day and saluted the industry for having become one of the leading agricultural commodities in the state. Citing historical statistics, Witte noted that New Mexico’s pecan production has grown from a reported 53 pounds of harvested…

Pecan trees across the upper South are currently showing a beautiful golden yellow leaf color. This is because the green chlorophyll has broken down within the cells and leaves. It makes us wonder; what is going on inside the leaves of pecans? The late great pecan grower and mentor of many in the river region…

A couple of days ago I received a letter, one that piqued my curiosity. It did that because of two things: first of all there was no return address and, secondly, the address was to me at a farm address that no longer exists, indicating the label came off a mailing list that was not…

2010 marked the 60th year of the Texas Pecan Show and Grading Demonstration. This Texas Pecan Growers Association-sponsored event started in November last year with 25 county shows hosted by Texas AgriLife Extension agents. Regional shows were held in Brenham, Texas (Larry Pierce, coordinator); Stephenville, Texas (Whit Weems and Neal Alexander, coordinators); Midland, Texas (Deborah Frost…

Pecan South readers can expect to see a copy of Texas Co-Op Power magazine in their mailbox soon, courtesy of that magazine and the Texas Pecan Board. For the past couple of years, TPB has sponsored a highly popular pecan holiday recipe contest in the utilities co-op publication that has a circulation of 1.3 million. Cash prizes totaling…

One thing’s certain in the pecan business. When pecan prices spike, more people get interested in managing native pecan trees. Drive through any native pecan area and you can find stands of trees that look to have potential for profitable pecan production. But looks can be deceiving. Some of these native stands were abandoned for…

Although I wrote on this subject for the July 2011 issue of Pecan South, I felt the need to rerun this information given that the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, was just recently detected in Texas (Corpus Christi). This first Texas detection was reported by a pest control operator in early November where the specimens were…

Consumers in the U.S. think about pecans – and use them – differently than most other nut varieties, according to a new national survey conducted by Blue Chip Marketing, a market research firm based in Chicago. Snacking is the most common eating occasion for nuts in general, according to the data. Meanwhile, consumers are more…

We had received some nuts into our cleaning plant last week and were beginning to tune it up when rain struck Georgia. After going the whole summer without much rain to speak of and just when harvest is ready to get underway, wouldn’t you know it — rain! It has been raining here for 3…

The North Carolina pecan industry has lost a devoted and enthusiastic leader, Bill Bunn, who passed away on Sept. 30. He was 76 years old. Billy Rogers “Bill” Bunn was a founding member and the only president the North Carolina Pecan Growers Association ever had “because of his excellent and relentless efforts on behalf of…

For many years I watched David Letterman and had a lot of laughs at someone’s expense; but as of late I’ve stopped. Life is too short to hurt anyone, but I will hand it to Letterman, his Top 10 list is interesting and it causes us to think. Here is my current, Bottom 10 list…

Dr. Ron Pegg, a University of Georgia researcher, was awarded a $1.2 million federal grant on Oct. 14 to study the nutritional benefits of pecans. The USDA grant will fund research by the UGA food science professor, who is working to expound on studies that suggest eating pecans may help protect against heart disease. He…

The Jiménez (Chihuahua, Mexico) pecan growers hosted their first full-fledged conference Sept. 23-24 and enjoyed amazing success in grower and exhibitor turnout. Billed as “Jimenuez International Forum 2011”, the meeting drew almost 800 participants, including 60 exhibiting companies. Held at Aguas Termales Las Pampas, the conference venue was unique — a water park supplied by…

During the 2009 TPGA conference the Pecan IPM Steering Committee discussed and prioritized important IPM related issues and needs for the industry during the next 3-5 years. Insecticide resistance in yellow pecan aphids, which includes the blackmargined pecan aphid, Monellia caryella and yellow pecan aphid, Monelliopsis pecanis was recognized as a high priority need. During the spring of 2010,…

Although most are ready for this year to be over, it is really hard to believe it is harvest time once again. Hopefully, most of you have a few nuts left to harvest after the brutal, horrific summer. Most improved pecan orchards have had to supply every ounce of water the trees got; so with…

The challenges and difficulties of the pecan growing season are brought to an end with harvest. After 7 or more months of spraying, mowing, scouting for insects, turning on irrigation valves and many other tasks, getting the crop into the cleaning shed brings a sense of relief and either accomplishment or disappointment depending on the…