Do stink bugs love ‘Pawnee’?
The Storey block in the Texas A&M orchard had a good ‘Pawnee’ crop in 2010 and it follows the good crop of last year. The set on outside, well-spaced trees was so great we decided to shake in late July to help reduce stress, improve kernel filling, and hopefully get a third crop in a...
Read moreKing Ranch Acquires Southwest Nut
King Ranch Inc. announced on Oct. 6 that it has acquired the name and substantially all of the assets of Southwest Nut Co. The newly acquired assets include a pecan processing and shelling plant and related equipment in Fabens, Texas and substantially all of the equipment in a second plant located in Juarez, Mexico. Robert...
Read moreOdds and Ends
Harvest began in Georgia in early October with ‘Pawnees’, moving on to ‘Creek’ and ‘Elliott’ around mid month. ‘Stuarts’ and ‘Desirables’ as well as other varieties followed in the latter half of the month. Because of my lead time in writing this, I cannot give you much in the way of current quality or price...
Read moreArizona: Young Plantings Fill the Horizon
Several thousand acres of new pecan trees have been planted in Arizona over the past five years and several thousand more will likely go in during the next couple of years. Enough new pecan acreage has been or will be planted to boost the state’s production by 10-15 million pounds — if all current established...
Read morePippin Pecan Farm Diversifies Its Harvest
While pecan operations are a familiar sight throughout South Georgia, Trey Pippin’s farm near Arlington, Georgia has a unique feature that sets it apart from the others — a one-acre plot covered with 836 solar panels that are generating the equivalent of 310,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually. It is the largest privately-owned commercial solar...
Read moreBehavior of Salmonella on High-Moisture Pecans
All microorganisms require water and other nutrients to grow. In the absence of one or both, microbial cells will die or go into a dormant, non-reproductive state. Molds generally require less moisture to grow than do bacteria. Hence the need to reduce the moisture content of in-shell pecan kernels as well as shelled nutmeats to...
Read moreBergeron Family Celebrates 100 Years In Shelling Business
Three generations and millions and millions of pecans later, Bergeron’s Pecans of New Roads, Louisiana, celebrated on Sept. 5 the 100th anniversary of the family-owned and operated shelling business. Hundreds of friends and community members filled False River Country Club for the occasion, including Louisiana State Rep. Major Thibaut and Sheriff Bud Torres as wells Louisiana...
Read moreSorting Through the Cull Pile
Pecan cleaners can be psychologically depressing machines. With air-legs, blowers and conveyors, they can create large piles of light weight and defective nuts as the harvested crop passes through them. Oh sure, they work great, and technological advances have given growers and accumulators better capability to sort out defective nuts and improve the quality of...
Read moreWhat 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...
Read moreSteps to Protect Your Pecans This Harvest Season
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...
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