Food Safety and You
Many of you will say that food safety does not pertain to you on the farm but you would be wrong — more wrong than you can imagine. Recently Congress passed and the President signed the first major legislation revising and enlarging food safety law in many years. With the exception of those items that...
Read moreApply Herbicides On Soil!
Many pecan growers, we’ve observed, think you should spray herbicides onto existing weeds, rather than onto soil. This concept is true for that class of herbicides referred to as post-emergence, like glyphosate (Roundup, many others) or Gramoxone. Several problems can develop if you limit your herbicide use to post-emergence herbicides only. One problem is you...
Read moreLoma Linda University Shows Antioxidants in Pecans May Contribute to Heart Health & Disease Prevention
Loma Linda, California – A new research study from Loma Linda University (LLU) demonstrates that naturally occurring antioxidants in pecans may help contribute to heart health and disease prevention; the results are published in the January 2011 issue of The Journal of Nutrition. Pecans contain different forms of the antioxidant vitamin E — known as tocopherols, plus...
Read moreU.S. Pecans Team Probes Canadian Market
A team of U.S. pecan industry representatives headed north to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 23 to carry out a whirlwind two-day agenda that included meetings with six influential Canadian nut buyers. This “outbound trade mission” was the first official activity for the newly launched promotional effort dubbed U.S. Pecans, which is being funded in...
Read more2011 Pecan Calendar for Texas
As pecan growers enter the 2011 pecan year, it is good to outline management practices which may need to be used and develop plans. The 2010 pecan prices were the highest ever paid and growers are excited about the short and long term future. The 2010 season was an “off” year, but prices changed the season....
Read moreGreen is Good isn’t It?
As a small grower in northern Oklahoma with no formal education in the art of growing pecans, I learn volumes every year through experience and observation. And every year there are things that are different, unexpected and not always understood. 2010 was no exception. For example, this year we harvested some of the largest and...
Read moreNatural Enemies (Beneficials) Help with IPM Efforts
In last month’s article I highlighted some of the natural enemy predators associated with pest insects, and for this month’s article, I will touch on the arthropod parasites. As mentioned in last month’s column, the role of and importance of natural enemies (beneficials) in a pest management (IPM) system can’t be overlooked or underestimated. For...
Read moreVast Stands of Natives Could Increase U.S. Production
Record native pecan prices in 2011 have created a great deal of interest in the potential management of native pecan stands in Texas. Despite the good off-year pecan crop in Texas, the native crop was fair to good at best. However, the good prices lead to healthy returns for most folks who manage and/or harvest...
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