Texas Pecan Shows Not Just About Recognition
The pecan show is underway throughout Texas, with 26 county or multi-county shows representing approximately 45 counties. Four regional shows are held in mid-December and the state competition takes place at the TPGA conference in July 2011. Each year the state show identifies the Grand Champion native entry with the best combination of size and...
Read moreObservations on Problems with Quality and Shucksplit in the Southeast
As I write this in mid-November, it is apparent that there are major problems with the pecan crop in the Southeast. Quality is poor to mediocre with ‘Desirable’, and not so good on other cultivars either. Harvest is delayed, and shucks opened late on most cultivars, especially ‘Stuart’. The problems with quality and delayed shuck...
Read moreWith Help of MAP Funding , Pecan Industry Launching International Promotions
Riding the crest of recent export demand for pecans, the U.S. pecan industry has united to pursue and be granted $200,000 in Market Access Program (MAP) funds from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. The funding will be utilized in 2011 to promote pecans in several foreign markets including China, India, Europe and Dubai. Additionally, the...
Read moreGood and Bad from 2010
The 2010 pecan year at the Texas A&M pecan orchard had some good and not so good results. We finished removing trees in the Storey block with a 50-by-50 spacing for 25-year-old trees. The stumps did not all die, so we still have to take out stumps for about 30 trees. We had a good...
Read moreNative Trees Recover from Ice Storm Damage
The older I get, the more respect I have for the durability of our native groves. Wind, floods, drought, freezing temperatures, and ice storms have all pummeled our native groves. But following every natural disaster, native groves recover and grow back into productivity. Sure, we lose some trees along the way, but our younger native...
Read moreCrop Failure
It is now the middle of November and it has become quite obvious that this is the year of the crop that never was in the Southeast. Never again will I forget the old adage that “a short crop gets shorter”. I am going to tattoo that on my forehead. I do believe that we...
Read moreCause for Isolated Leaf Miner Outbreak a Mystery
During this past summer, my summer intern and I observed an isolated outbreak of leaf miners for which at this time I do not have an explanation. The infestation ran south on Hwy 50 from where Hwy. 50 joins Hwy. 79 in Robertson County to Hwy. 21 then continued south on 50 to the Hwy....
Read moreIndustry to Establish Research and Extension Priorities
Research and Extension programs on pecans need your direction and support. A planning conference has been scheduled for Feb. 13-15, 2011 at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Oklahoma. Industry representatives have been invited to establish research and Extension priorities in a) production, b) processing and distribution, and c) consumer and retail markets. The industry...
Read moreOptimism Pervades New Mexico Pecan Growers’ Field Day 2010
New Mexico State University’s Leyendecker Plant Science Center in Las Cruces was the setting for the 2010 New Mexico Pecan Growers’ Field Day on Nov. 4. The annual conference was organized by the New Mexico Pecan Growers and co-sponsored by NMSU’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; the New Mexico Department of Agriculture; and...
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