Spring Came Early—Don’t Get Caught Unprepared!
From an astronomical point of view, spring made its earliest arrival in the U.S. since 1896. The vernal equinox (the first day of spring) arrived at 1:14 EDT on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. And just in case you didn’t notice, spring temperatures arrived earlier than that, as some parts of the country experienced spring-like, even...
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Custom Scouting: valuable resource for pecan growers
As long as I’ve been in the pecan business, entomologists have been recommending that growers scout their orchards. Usually, it’s something like monitor every fourth tree in every fourth row weekly. Keep track of various pests as they appear throughout the growing season from April until October. Learn the insects, learn the thresholds, learn the...
Read moreThe “Other” Micronutrients
It is well known that most pecan orchards, especially out here in the West, require zinc fertilizers for normal leaf expansion, shoot growth, and nut production. And in the past five years or so, most pecan growers have become proficient at spotting the telltale signs of nickel deficiency. But very rarely do they discuss other...
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Dead, stressed trees producing abundance of wood-infesting insects
As I have driven around Texas this spring, the effects of last year’s drought are all too apparent with countless dead trees dotting the Texas landscape. Unfortunately, this also includes countless dead and struggling pecans. With this abundance of dead wood and timber, I am seeing an abundance of Buprestid beetles on trees this spring....
Read moreGreat Crop Plans and Mike Luke
The 2012 crop continues to look great in Texas. We have had sufficient winter chilling, and spring rains have been perfect, exceeding the entire 2011 season. The pecan nut casebearer emergence exploded earlier than normal and with record male moth trap catches; then the females crashed with few or no eggs and few or no...
Read moreLooking at the 2012 Crop
I have just returned from a few days in the central valley of California, the heart of tree nut production in North America and perhaps the world. When you have driven for hour upon hour past field after field of citrus, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, grapes, alfalfa, fruit trees, olives, and every vegetable imaginable, you realize...
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