Pecan Chilling and Delayed Bud Break

The 2016-2017 winter at College Station, Texas was the warmest in the last 45 years. According to the U.S. Weather Service via Underground Weather and “Get Chill Hours” on the web, we received only 368 hours of winter chilling below 45 degrees Fahrenheit from Nov. 1, 2016 to Feb. 28, 2017. From 1969 to 1974,...

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Eating Nuts Associated With Lower Risk of CVD, Cancer, and More

In a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies published in BMC Medicine (Aune et al), researchers looked at the association of nut consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), total cancer, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in adults. Higher nut intake (15-20 grams/day or 5-6 servings/week) was associated with reduced risk of CVD,...

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Scenes from Georgia

ATTENDING GEORGIA PECAN GROWERS CONFERENCE IN MARCH—This contingent of growers from northern Coahuila, Mexico, were on hand for the Georgia Pecan Growers Association annual conference in Tifton, Georgia on March 29 and especially pleased to be mentioned in Pecan South. From left: Julio Valdez, Margil Fernandez, Rodolfo Chavarria, Romulo Garza, Andres Bergen Wiebe, Benjamin Ortiz,...

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Irrigation and Fertilization of Young Pecan Trees

Most pecan growers are understandably eager to get young pecan trees into production. Aside from weed control, the two most important factors in doing this are irrigation and fertilization. Until recently there were no research-based recommendations for these two very important requirements. Before I get into these two topics, a word about site selection. The...

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Georgia Conference Draws Big Crowd in Tifton

The Georgia Pecan Growers Association packed a big crowd into a new conference venue in March. GPGA’s annual conference took place March 29 at the University of Georgia Conference Center in Tifton. Richard Heerema of New Mexico State opened the educational program with new information on zinc management, with a key point being “we are...

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Ambrosia Beetle Not Common, but Merits Attention

Not long after I started my career as the pecan IPM agent with Texas Agricultural Extension Service (as we were called back then), I had a producer from East Texas complain about some insect that was attacking and killing his young pecan trees. At that time I was more concerned about pecan nut casebearer and...

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The Tree Signals the Timing for Orchard Tasks

 “When do I fertilize?” “When do I spray for casebearer?” “When do I control pecan weevil?” These are just a few of the ‘when’ questions I field every year from both new and experienced pecan growers. And with an early spring this year, everyone seems confused about timing orchard operations. I could reply with a...

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