Dormant Season Activities to Improve your Orchard
In last month’s Pecan South, Blair Krebs provided us with an overview of the status of pecan harvest in various locations in the pecan belt. With it appearing that most growers have completed harvest for the 2014 season and hopefully have also sold the crop at a satisfactory price, I hope you had time to...
Read moreSEPGA conference Feb. 27-28 at Grand Hotel resort
The Southeastern Pecan Growers Association is hosting its annual convention, Feb. 27-28, at the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort at Point Clear, Alabama. Registration is underway and the hotel reservation cut-off date is approaching. To reserve accommodations at the Grand Hotel, call 800-544-9933 before Feb. 13. The SEPGA group rate is $150. Or attendees can access...
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New Book Focuses on Pecan History
A new book, “The Pecan: A History of America’s Native Nut”, is now available from The Olde Pecan Bookstore. This 172-page hardback is written by James McWilliams, a historian and writer from Austin, Texas. Cost is $20. In this book, McWilliams explores the history of America’s most important commercial nut. He describes how essential the...
Read morePecan Highs and Lows for TAMU in 2014
The Texas A&M pecan orchard had a great year in 2014; but it was not without issues and problems. The harvest was great with 17 acres producing 13,050 pounds of nuts, which were retailed as kernel halves or large pieces and/or chocolate covered halves for $43,500. This was our best season since 2009, hopefully, we...
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County Pecan Shows and Pest Impact Evaluations
One long-standing pecan tradition in Texas is the county pecan show and starting around November there are numerous county pecan shows across the state. This program I believe started in the early 1950s with the concept or intention to teach growers how to grade their pecans. In addition to the education on grading, these shows...
Read moreNutrition trends 2015: Nuts in Top Two Superfoods
NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Will 2015 be gluten-free? Is Paleo out? Are we eating carbs yet? Is kale still the Queen of Greens or will nuts, seeds or cauliflower take the throne? The annual “What’s Trending in Nutrition” Survey from Pollock Communications and Today’s Dietitian highlights what’s forecasted to be in – and...
Read moreINC launches fun game to encourage nut consumption among children
Nuts and dried fruits consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, and the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council aims to make such benefits known through its new application, INC Cartoons. In just one minute, the superheroes from INC Cartoons will fight the enemies to win the...
Read moreNew study shows nut consumers have better diet quality
A new study, published in mid-January in the open access journal Nutrients, compares the nutrient adequacy and diet quality of those who consume tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts), and non-tree nut consumers in a nationally representative population. Tree nut consumption was associated with better nutrient adequacy...
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Texas Pecan Show Snapshots
REGIONAL PECAN SHOW — From left, Bill Ree and Monte Nesbitt judge the West Texas Pecan Show in San Angelo in December while County Horticulturist Allison Watkins and grower Chester McCown look on. Top entries from the three regional shows were collected and preserved for more judging next July at the Texas State Pecan Show,...
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The Best Pecan in Texas in 2013
Being the best at something is commendable in Texas, where there is no shortage of biggest, best, brightest and firsts. The “best” pecans in Texas for each crop year are awarded in July at the Texas Pecan Growers Association Annual Conference. The journey to being the best begins with entering a 42-nut sample in a...
Read moreCultivar Selection and Row Spacing: Science or Informed Opinion?
Over 100 years into commercial pecan production, we often still see more opinions regarding how to grow pecans than we see science. Even among pecan scientists, opinions vary considerably on many topics related to pecan production. The reason for this is that empirical data for some topics is so hard to come by in these...
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