Pecan Museum to Open its Doors in Seguin, Texas
Seguin claims the title “Pecan Capital of Texas”, so it’s only right that the city gets a museum dedicated to one of Texas’ greatest resources. The museum has been in the works for some time but is now coming together with the help of the community in Seguin and pecan growers across the state. The...
Read moreMarketing Order Plans Progressing
Mike Adams, president of the American Pecan Board, reports that the development of the Federal Marketing Order for pecans is progressing. As reported earlier, the American Pecan Board met with USDA staff at DFW airport on Jan. 13-16 to begin the process of composing the order that will be sent to the Secretary of Agriculture...
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Texas Pecan Short Course a Success, Bright Future for Pecans
Whether you’ve grown pecans for 25 years or you’re just getting started, the Texas Pecan Short Course at Texas A&M University is five days of valuable information. The course is given by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and features presentations from Texas A&M University and AgriLife professors and researchers on everything from pecan varieties...
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Zinc Thinking in the Southeast
Zinc is the 24th most abundant element in the earth’s crust, the eighth metal known to man, a component of ancient brass artifacts, and an ingredient of batteries, gutters and galvanized screws. Zinc is a relative newcomer to plant fertilizer, having not been discovered as essential to plant growth until 1926. Not long afterward, zinc...
Read moreTexas Crop Registry – A tool to Minimize Pesticide Drift
I wrote about this topic in my May 2014 column but crop registration has to be renewed each year so this is a reminder that this “tool” is available for producers and this is a good time to sit down and do your registration. I have already received one call this year from a producer...
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China lowers tariff on pecans from 24 to 10 percent
Pecans were among several agricultural commodities that were recently granted lower tariff rates in China. The tariff rate for pecans, inshell and meats, going into China went from 24 percent to 10 percent effective Jan. 1, 2015. The tariff on macadamias went from 24 percent to 19 percent. The impact of this development on the...
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Keys to consistent native production
It is hard to believe that the dawn of another growing season is upon us — seems like we were just talking about harvest and now it is time to start all over once again. No doubt the “old timers” got it right when they said, “the older you get the faster the years go”!...
Read moreAnnual Pecan Calendar
As pecan growers enter the 2015 pecan year it is good to outline management practices and develop plans. Growers can use different types of management: establishment management, low versus moderate versus intensive orchard management, and native grove management. Texas production is in an alternate-bearing cycle with 2015 being an “off” year. Our rainfall last season...
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