What happened to my pecans? Keep an eye on late-season pests.

As the harvest season gets into full swing, I start to receive inquires about “what happened to my pecans? They looked great last month and now they are no good”. On the entomology front, there are several insects such as pecan weevil, stink bugs, hickory shuckworm and pecan nut casebearer that can turn a promising…

The 2010 harvest season is here! Even though it is hard to believe it is here so soon, it also seems like it has been a long growing season. Growing conditions have been favorable across the state for most of the year with good and at times too much rain. Still there are places that…

It’s finally here! After spending months caring for and trying to protect your pecan crop, it is almost time to reap your rewards. Most varieties are in the final stages of kernel filling and soon it will be time to start harvesting. It is the time of year when most individuals involved in the pecan…

Working with Texas IPM agent Bill Ree and Texas AgriLife Extension this summer has been a wonderful learning experience that has given me a lot of insight towards my future. There was a point in my past when I was unclear about the role of Extension agents and I was uncertain that a career path…

Georgia growers were treated to the annual Georgia Pecan Growers Association Fall Field Day on Sept. 9. The Fall Field Day generally alternates every three years to different locations, usually between the Tifton and Byron research orchards and then to a grower’s orchard. Mason Pecan Farm hosted the field day at their orchards in Fort…

Most growers are aware that the most critical time for adequate irrigation in pecans is during kernel filling from mid-August to mid-September. However, the pecan tree’s demand for water does not end when kernel filling is complete. In general, pecans need about 55-60 inches of water per year. Depending on tree spacing and size, orchards…

The National Pecan Shellers Association has listened and heard over the past few years about the importance and increased emphasis on food safety. Invited speakers at several of NPSA’s recent meetings have focused on this topic. And now NPSA is making a considerable investment in determining precisely the “prevalence of Salmonella in pecans.” NPSA has…

September crop outlook for Texas looks good, and it is definitely not an “off “year. As the nuts and clusters began to fill out, we could see the crop will be bigger than an average “off” year harvest of 40 million pounds. We had a dry summer for low scab conditions and scattered rain for…

The National Pecan Shellers Association re-elected three members and elected three others to serve on the Board of Directors during the NPSA Annual Meeting Sept. 16-18 in Memphis, Tennessee. Jerry Fogle of Golden Kernel Pecan Co., Terri Lynn Schuck of Terri Lynn Inc. and Larry Willson of Sunnyland Farms Inc. were re-elected to new two-year…

As new estimates for the 2010 crop come out and as I observe the crop around my home area, I realize that this will be a fairly large “off” year crop. In addition, walnut production is forecast to be double what it was two years ago and up 17 percent from last year. This tells…

Pecan fruit production is irregular, typified by high production one year followed by one year or more of low production (Sparks 1986). Alternate bearing is typically associated with a lack of return bloom rather than flower or fruit abortion. Certain cultural practices, such as nutrition, light and water management, fruit thinning, vegetation control and others,…

It appears that this is one year that a small crop got larger, which does not happen very often. Here in the Southeast, the potential is very good this year. A little scab here and there from early rains but I do not think that it will have much effect on the total crop. We…

Pecan groves seem to be a common gathering place for a variety of wildlife.  Often times, individuals find this visually appealing when in fact wildlife gathering in these areas can become quite a nuisance. The damage resulting from wildlife inhabitation can be divided into three areas:  tree injury, nut injury, and cashing. Tree injury occurs when the…

Most pecan growers will tell you that if they make the effort to attend a grower meeting or field day or orchard tour, they always learn something. Those Alabama pecan growers who made the trip to South Georgia for their association’s annual summer tour learned a lot — much of which should put them in…

I would like to refer back to an excellent article by Monte Nesbitt in last month’s Pecan South, Southeastern Shakings, Page 6, where he talks about the difficulty in producing pecans during August. This not only applies to the horticultural challenges in filling out kernels but this is also a time when producers have to start…

Pecan scab is the most serious pest problem on pecans in the Southeast. By pests, I’m talking about insects, mites, weeds and diseases, and scab is still number one among all pests. Scab can be very damaging, to the point of total crop loss on susceptible cultivars like ‘Desirable’ in wet seasons, if left unchecked….

Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010 8:00 a.m.            Registration 8:30 a.m.            Call to Order and Introduction of Guests – Roger Cook 8:40 a.m.            Opening Remarks – Ron Zorn 8:50 a.m.            Introduction of William Batchelor, New Dean of Auburn College of Agriculture Moderator — Allen Burnie 9:00 a.m.            “A trip to China to promote pecans” – Matt Goff 9:20 a.m.            “Update on early harvest cultivars” – Bill Goff…

There are a number of grower-accepted practices for pecans —for natives, intensively managed orchards, standard orchards, sustainable orchards, and abandoned orchards. These practices can be used from time to time, regularly, or as a “must do” practice every year. Practices affect pecan alternate bearing, tree health, production, kernel quality and profits. A grower should want…

If Kenneth Pape’s crop forecast, offered at the recent Texas Pecan Growers conference in San Marcos, proves true, the 2010 “off-year” pecan crop would be as big as 2009’s “on-year” total. Pape predicted a 292-million-pound total for U.S. production this coming harvest season. That set off a lively debate between Pape and fellow prognosticator Ben…

Last year and this year have been tough years for scab control in the eastern part of the growing belt. Wet weather has created more challenges in controlling this disease the past two years than we have seen in some time. Because of this, I thought I might revisit the issue and add some things…

Ever since the 2007 Easter freeze, it seems like we have had to re-adjust our thinking about pest management in native pecans, at least in the northern portion of the native pecan range. It seems like the freezing temperatures in the spring of 2007 not only destroyed all the emerging new shoots on our trees,…

In the production of pecans as a commercial crop, some things are constant and we cannot do much about them, such as soil depth, soil drainage, money available for management, time available with other jobs, etc. The big four jobs are water, weeds, nitrogen and zinc sprays. Here we talk about nitrogen. I am concerned…

The pecan growing season begins in late March and ends in late September for many orchards in the Southeast. Let’s round it off and call it 200 days, earlier and later ripening varieties withstanding. Approximately 125 to 130 days after bud break, a pecan grower will find himself or herself in the month of August….

During 2009 many Texas pecan producers experienced greater than expected damage from pecan weevils and, although it is only late July, I feel it is time to address pecan weevil management so producers will have time to establish management plans. I have published this article several times in the past but because of the importance…