AgNet DEMO

Category: Nuts

  • Recent Rains Beneficial for Pecan Crop

    UGA photo shows a pecan tree suffering through the heat with scorched leaves.

    Recent rainfall is a sight for sore eyes for pecan farmers on the verge of harvesting this year’s crop, according to University of Georgia Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells.

    “We’ve had years where August and September we didn’t get a drop of rain. Even with the best irrigation the percent kernel didn’t fill out as good as you would expect,” Wells said. “A little bit of rain goes a long way during this time as far as that goes.”

    Weeks of dry conditions and extreme temperatures led to multiple counties in Alabama and Georgia being classified as ‘abnormally dry’ by the US Drought Monitor. This led to tough conditions for pecan trees producing a crop.

    “We were seeing a lot of that leaf scorch, especially on the young trees where the roots were getting a little burned from the heat. It’ll be 105 degrees down 5 or 6 inches, and that’ll burn and kill off some of those feeder roots. You get some scorching and that kind of thing,” Wells said. “This (recent rain) will give some relief from that for sure.”

    Harvest Season About to Begin

    With harvest season just a month or two away – Wells believes the Pawnee varieties will be harvested in mid-September – this is an important time in the production season for the nuts to receive water.

    “We’re into the kernel fill stage and that’s such a high energy demand process and especially when they have a heavy crop on them like we see out there this year, it just takes a lot of water to fill those nuts out as the kernel forms,” Wells said. “The crop is probably two weeks ahead of schedule. But a lot of our main varieties are right in the middle of filling those kernels. Some of the early stuff has already got kernels already in place. But the water’s still going to be beneficial to helping them go on and mature properly and open up properly.”

  • UGA Pecan Specialist: Fruit Thinning a Hard Sale

    Fruit thinning will likely be a hard practice for pecan producers to follow through on in the next couple of weeks. But University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells believes it is the right course of action to take, especially considering the quantity of this year’s pecan supply.

    Lenny Wells

    “This is going to be a hard sale because a lot of growers have gone without much of a crop for a couple of years. They’re wanting to make all they can. But in a situation like that with a crop that’s really loaded, especially if they’re calling for dry weather late in the season, it would not be a bad idea right now to fruit thin your trees,” Wells said. “That would take some of that pressure off the tree where it would be better able to manage and make those nuts with good quality that it has left.”

    Wells said growers only have another week or two to thin their trees, except for Pawnee variety, which should have already been done. There are various advantages to thinning your tree, though, you would be affecting this year’s crop.

    “It’s a tough call, it really is. It’s certainly hard to do,” Wells said. “It definitely does help. It helps with a lot of things; it helps with quality; it helps with return crop next year; it helps with the size of the nuts; it helps with that if we do get some kind of storm late in the season, if you lighten that crop load, then trees don’t take such a beating. There’s a lot of advantages to it, but it is hard to do.”

    According to the UGA Extension pecan blog, Wells said Georgia’s crop is projected at 87 million pounds.

  • Alabama Pecan Crop Projected at 2.5 Million Pounds

    File photo shows pecans.

    Alabama’s pecan trees are progressing with a strong crop this year. Alabama Extension Research Associate Bryan Wilkins believes the fungicide Miravis Top’s has worked well against scab disease and believes producers in his state should be in good shape come harvest time, barring a hurricane.

    “I think Alabama will be up there around 2.5 million pounds, maybe a little bit more. That’s more than what we’ve had the past few years,” Wilkins said. “That Miravis Top has done real well. I’ve got Desirables here in Fairhope that are clean right now. Normally, by now, it doesn’t matter how many times I spray them, they’re eat up (with scab disease).”

    The majority of Alabama’s pecan crop is produced in the southwest part of the state, in Mobile County, Baldwin County and Covington County. It has been an up-and-down growing season with regards to weather. In April and May, that region of Alabama got extremely dry. Now, it is experiencing seasonable rainfall.

    Wilkins estimates his growers will make two more fungicide sprays against scab this season.

    “We’ve had a fairly good growing season. Scab hasn’t been terrible. We haven’t had any major insect problems,” Wilkins said. “Last year, I think black aphids just ate everybody up across the Southeast. But we haven’t had any major insect problems. As long as we don’t get a hurricane, I think we’re going to be in real good shape.”

  • Pecan Crop Could Be One of Best in Recent Seasons

    georgia pecans
    File photo of Georgia pecans.

    Georgia’s pecan industry is shaping up to have one of its most productive crops in recent years. But what that means for the industry come harvest time and how that will impact prices remains to be seen, according to South Georgia farmer Randy Hudson.

    “We do feel like we have a really good crop. Now, what that actually means, I don’t know. In years past we’ve said a really good crop in Georgia was 100 million pounds. Last year, we thought we had a really good crop and we harvested significantly less than 100 million pounds, simply because of the amount of damage that Hurricane Michael had done (the year before) in regards to taking off fruiting limbs and trees,” said Hudson, who works with the American Pecan Council, serves on the Pecan Export Trade Committee and member of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association.

    “When we harvested, we didn’t have quite the yield we thought we would make. We know we’ve got pecans on the trees but we really don’t know what the impact of all of the limbs that still have not grown back in trees that were lost from Hurricane Michael, what that impact’s going to be for the overall yield for the state as a whole.”

    Scab Disease

    Hudson said scab disease pressure is starting to become problematic in areas inundated with excess rainfall, like around Albany, Georgia in the southwestern part of the state and over in east Georgia around Blackshear, Georgia and Waycross, Georgia.

    He added that areas of the mid-South are experiencing significant disease as well, particularly in Texas and Louisiana.

    “I think in regard to where we stand as a nation, Georgia’s got a good crop. We don’t know exactly what that might mean. The nation as a whole has got a pretty good crop, but it does have some holes in some areas. I think it’s safe to say we probably have a really good, average crop,” Hudson said.

    Prices?

    So, the big question is what does an improved pecan crop this year mean for the financial market?

    “I think the answer is not so much what goes on in the United States but what’s happening particularly in Mexico and in South Africa. Right now, there’s still inventory in Mexico. Mexico can produce pecans a lot cheaper than we can produce them in the United States. As a result, the growers are more willing to take a lower price,” Hudson said. “The currency values, which also enters in the pecan markets, particularly between the Mexican peso and the Chinese yuan, have also entered into a depression in our market. The value of the yuan has weakened somewhat and has made the U.S. pecans a little more attractive, I think in the neighborhood of 5% or 10% cheaper than they were six months ago when the yuan was very strong.

    “With the Mexico supply, with the South African supply, with what pecans are being sold out of South Africa for right now into the China market, which is a very important player for the U.S. market, I think we’re going to see prices somewhere in the same range that we saw last year,” Hudson added.

    He said stuart blends sold into China last year between $2 and $2.25 per pound and that desirable blends were sold into China for $2.25 and $2.50 per pound.

  • Scout Aphids Early and Often

    University of Georgia Extension photo/Shows early black pecan aphid damage.

    By Clint Thompson

    According to UGA Extension, aphids are one of the most important pests pecan growers need to manage during the growing season. And they’re also one of the most difficult to control.

    Black-margined aphids and yellow aphids are present all season but it’s not uncommon to see a spike in numbers in mid-to-late June and in August. Andrew Sawyer, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension area pecan agent for Southeast District, said it’s important not to treat black aphids until you start seeing nymph clusters. The threshold is when nymph clusters appear on damaged leaves.

    With yellow aphids, a glossy appearance on the leaves called honeydew is commonly seen. Tree leaves can absorb a good bit of honeydew and be fine. The threshold is 50 aphids per compound leaf.

    If you’re seeing aphid damage on your pecan trees, Sawyer offers these tips.

    1. Don’t spray broadspectrum insecticides. These are pyrethroids and chlorpyrifos. These will harm beneficial insects and flare aphids.
    2. Ignore yellow aphids.
    3. Ignore black aphids before late July.
    4. If black aphids flare up within 3 to 4 weeks following application, apply aphid insecticides and rotate.
    5. Apply gibberellic acid, which is a plant growth regulator. It can prevent black pecan aphid injury and inhibit the establishment of black pecan aphids in the orchard. Gibberellic acid does not affect aphids directly and will not control any other pest, including yellow aphids. Three applications should be made at 2-week intervals, beginning in mid-July, applying 10 oz (or 5 oz of ProGibb LV Plus) each time.
    6. Try to save Nexter late season if needed for black aphids when mites are a problem.

    Sawyer emphasizes the importance of beneficial insects. The two easiest to see in the orchard are lady bug larvae and the eggs of green lace wings. If you flip over a compound leaf and see either of these, your beneficial population is good.

  • Pecan Tree Dieback Scary But Normal For Growers

    UGA Extension photo/Shows leaf scorching on a pecan tree.

    By Clint Thompson

    Leaf scorching and dieback on some young pecan trees is common this year with high temperatures, according to Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist. But Wells assures growers the problem can be corrected.

    “We see that this time of year pretty much every year; young trees where they’re growing so fast that the root system can’t keep up with what the top is trying to produce. This time of year, it turns off hot and soil temperatures warm up some,” Wells said. “Water demand goes up and those young trees with the root system not fully developed yet have a hard time keeping up. They tend to grow out of it. It’s a scary thing for growers to see. But they do tend to grow out of it fine.

    “Anytime you have a tree like that, that’s struggling and you start seeing some shoots dying back and stuff like that, it’s a sign that’s something’s going on in the root system. If you prune back some of that top and bring the top of that tree back more in line with what the root system can support, that usually is a big help to it.”

    Wells cautions growers to maintain consistent soil moisture or apply water every other day. The longer irrigation is applied, the deeper the water runs. This allows the root system to develop deeper through the soil profile. This also prevents the soil from getting too hot. Soil temperatures that exceed 95 degrees F inhibit root growth.

    In the UGA Extension pecan blog, Wells also said that growers will get more vigor and healthy first-year growth if they plant before March.

  • Pecan Industry Seeks to Establish a Research and Promotion Program

    georgia pecans
    File photo shows shelled pecans and those still in shells.

    USDA Agricultural Marketing Service

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) received a proposal from the National Pecan Federation (NPF) requesting the establishment of a research and promotion program to strengthen the position of pecans in the marketplace, maintain and expand markets for pecans and develop new uses for pecans.

    USDA is currently analyzing the proposal. If USDA finds the request justified, the department will publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule with a public comment period seeking input from the industry and interested stakeholders. A copy of the NPF proposal can be found here.

    The proposed program would be established under the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996 and would be financed by an assessment on domestic producers and importers of pecans and administered by a board of industry members nominated by the industry and selected by the Secretary of Agriculture.

    The proposal by the NPF calls for an initial assessment rate of two cents per pound of inshell and four cents per pound of shelled domestic and imported pecans. Handlers would collect assessments from producers based on the pounds of pecans received and importers would pay assessments on pecans when they enter the U.S. for consumption. Domestic producers and importers of less than 50,000 pounds of inshell pecans (25,000 pounds of shelled pecans) on average for four fiscal periods would be exempt from paying assessments.

    NPF proposed that the board consist of 17 members to include producers representing different pecan-producing regions within the United States and importers of pecans.

  • UGA Pecan Team Emphasizes Scab Disease Management

    By Clint Thompson

    The University of Georgia (UGA) pecan team is emphasizing scab disease management, since June and July are critical times for disease control.

    UGA picture/Scab disease does not usually kill trees, but it can greatly reduce yields. The fungal pathogen that causes scab overwinters in the tree as lesions on stems and old nut shucks that remain in the tree after harvest. When temperatures begin to warm in the spring, the fungus becomes active and starts to produce new spores that are spread by rain and wind.

    According to UGA Extension pecan blog, plant pathologist Jason Brock’s recommendations are based on Extension plant pathologist Tim Brenneman’s research regarding scab disease:

    With Desirable or any variety with similar scab susceptibility, a rotation of Elast/Tin with Miravis Top is the strongest option. You could use consecutive applications of either, but keep in mind Miravis Top use restrictions include a 14-day minimum application interval and a maximum of 4 applications per year. In most cases, half rates for Elast/Tin are suitable. Research trials have shown that increasing the rate of Elast to 37 fl. oz. while mixed with Tin can provide better scab control, but only when disease pressure is high. Unless we get into a rainy summer, the half rates are the better option.

    Cultivars with relatively low scab susceptibility provide more options for fungicide selection. In addition to Miravis Top, Elast and Tin (either in a mix or used stand-alone), other fungicides are suitable for these cultivars. Another tank mix combination that has provided good nut scab control is a Group 3 (DMI) + Group 11 (strobilurin). This combination is available in a number of premixed products. A newer option that we have recommended is a 3-quart rate of a phosphite. While the phosphites’ strength is in foliar disease control, a high rate application is suitable for nut scab control of certain cultivars with low scab susceptibility.

    Aside from fungicide selection, important factors in scab control will be timely applications and good coverage. Pay close to attention to rain forecast and try to stay ahead of scab development; however, do not sacrifice good coverage by traveling too fast or trying to spray when weather conditions are detrimental to good coverage. Always remember to rotate chemistries regularly to manage fungicide resistance.

    Light Scab Disease

    In a previous VSCNews story, UGA Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells said scab disease is currently light, but there has been “scabby weather” recently. The rainy weather because of Tropical Storm Cristobal last week could be a reason scab disease incidences begin to spike.  Wells said it usually takes a couple of weeks before growers start seeing scab because of excess rainfall.

    Scab is a fungal disease that infects the leaves or nuts of pecan trees. If it hits the nut early enough, scab can cause the pecan to blacken and fall from the tree. Some growers spray between 10 and 12 times during an average year to fight scab, Wells said. Scab thrives on trees that have received moisture. That is why a quick rain event is important and not prolonged rainy weather of several days in a row.

  • Recent Rains Could Lead to Spike in Pecan Scab Disease

    Pecan scab disease has been light this year but could change with the recent rains.

    By Clint Thompson

    Scab disease of pecans has been light so far this year. But could soon change with the recent rain events in the Southeast, says Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist.

    “Scab so far has been light, but we’ve had some pretty scabby weather the last week or so. We’ll see, but I think everybody has been staying on top of it pretty well,” Wells said.

    The rainy weather as a result of Tropical Storm Cristobal this week could be a big reason scab disease incidences begin to spike. Wells said it usually takes a couple of weeks before growers start seeing scab as a result of excess rainfall.

    “If people were set to spray this week and it’s been raining like it is and they can’t get out there to spray everything like they need to because of the weather, then there may be some that get caught. (But) things are looking pretty good, and everybody’s staying on a good schedule,” Wells said.

    What Is Scab?

    Scab is a fungal disease that infects the leaves or nuts of pecan trees. If it hits the nut early enough, scab can cause the pecan to blacken and fall from the tree. Some growers spray between 10 and 12 times during an average year to fight scab, Wells said. Scab thrives on trees that have received moisture. That is why a quick rain event is important and not prolonged rainy weather of several days in a row.

    One reason Wells is optimistic this year is the new fungicide that is now in growers’ arsenal.

    “We’ve got a new fungicide we’ve got in the mix this year that I think is going to be a big help. A part of it is a chemistry that has two different classes of chemistry in it, and part of it is something we haven’t had before in pecans or been used before. Based on Tim Brenneman’s work it looks like it’ll be a big help for us,” Wells said.

    For other pecan-related stories, see pecan crop offers hope.

  • Deadline for Georgia Pecan Assessment Vote is May 30

    georgia pecan

    By Clint Thompson

    All Georgia pecan growers planning to vote on this month’s one-cent per pound assessment need to have their ballots postmarked by Saturday, May 30.

    Georgia’s pecan farmers are voting this month to renew a one-cent per pound assessment on pecans for the Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Pecans.

    Ballots have been sent to Georgia growers who own at least 30 acres or more. The vote on the assessment is required under Georgia law. Producers are required to vote every three years to renew the assessment.

    According to Andy Harrison, commodity commissions manager for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, of the returning votes, there needs to be a 2/3 voting affirmative for the assessment to pass. He estimates there have been about 700 or 800 ballots sent to pecan growers.

    It’s one cent per pound on pecans marketed. That money can be used for research, education or promotion for Georgia pecans.

    The back of the return envelope must be completed for the ballot to be valid. The commodity commission utilizes assessment funds for research, education, and promotion of Georgia pecans.

    Harrison emphasized that the Georgia Department of Ag administers the funds. But it is the Georgia Pecan Commission who decides how the money is spent.

    Growers of 30 or more acres who have not received a ballot should contact Andy Harrison, at andy.harrison@agr.georgia.gov.