University of Georgia picture shows Pawnee variety compared to Desirable and Stuart.
Some of Georgia’s pecan farmers will begin harvesting their crop during the week of Sept. 14, according to Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist.
Wells estimates that the Pawnee pecan, which is typically the first variety harvested in Georgia every year, is on track to be picked sometime this week.
“We’re usually harvesting Pawnee towards the end of September. But the crop is a couple of weeks early this year. They’re about ready now,” Wells said. “We’re already seeing shuck split going pretty well. Next week, we expect harvest to begin on those.”
Once Pawnee pecans are harvested, there is normally about a three-week gap before other varieties are harvested. Wells said the Pawnee variety has been the most planted variety in the state since 2012.
“There’s a fair amount of it, but a lot of it is young plantings,” Wells said.
The ability to harvest and sell pecans early has been an attractive selling point for producers to grow the Pawnee variety.
“Usually the earlier varieties are going to bring a better price; the earlier you can get to market, that’s generally the case. Pawnee has always been the highest value nut just because of being the first one to market,” Wells said.
Wells estimates that pecan maturity is a couple of weeks early compared to previous seasons.
“Just because our bud break was so early this year because of the conditions we had over the winter and spring. We had an early bud break and things have all moved along at that pace that it started out with. So, we’re a couple of weeks early,” Wells said.
Pecan scab fungus (Fusicladium effusum) is the most destructive disease of pecans in Georgia.
By Emily Cabrera for UGA CAES News
University of Georgia faculty will begin a series of pecan trials this winter to help identify better management practices for growers.
New pecan trees will be planted at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center in Toombs County for research and demonstration purposes. Andrew Sawyer, southeast Georgia area pecan agent for UGA Cooperative Extension, is spearheading several research projects with a team of UGA researchers. He will be looking at factors that impact the pecan industry such as variety selection, insect pest management, disease resistance, herbicide application rates and other input requirements.
This research is funded by a Pecan Commodity Commission grant that was awarded last year.
Sawyer, who began this new position in May 2019, is based in Statesboro, Georgia and supports pecan growers throughout southeast Georgia. The position is funded by the Georgia Pecan Grower’s Association and UGA Extension to support Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells at the UGA Tifton campus.
Primary Study
The team will primarily study the effects of pecan scab fungus on various cultivars that grow well in the southeast. Pecan scab begins in the tissues of the tree trunk, and at bud break in the spring, the disease begins to rapidly spread through the limbs, leaves and eventually the nuts. It’s the most detrimental disease to pecans in Georgia, causing severe economic losses each year. Currently, trees must be treated with several applications of fungicides annually in order to produce a marketable crop, as it only takes 25% scab on shucks to minimize quality.
‘Desirable,’ ‘Pawnee’ and ‘Stuart’ are some of the most common pecan varieties grown in Georgia, valued for their excellent yield and nut quality. Of the three cultivars, growers have shown a preference for ‘Desirable,’ which is the most susceptible variety to pecan scab.
“The most susceptible cultivars to this disease also happen to be the industry standards used here in the southeast,” explained Sawyer. “We didn’t use to see pecan scab in these cultivars, but over time, as the pecan industry became more or less a monoculture of ‘Desirable,’ the disease has gained a foothold in orchards throughout the state. We are at a point that we shouldn’t be planting this cultivar in new orchards anymore. There may be some situations where growers are located in more northern areas of the state where this disease isn’t as hard-hitting, but most pecans are grown in warmer parts of the state where spraying from bud break to shell hardening requires an unsustainable amount of labor and money.”
Sawyer hopes that through his research program, other low-input, marketable varieties will prove to be just as valuable as the current industry favorites. His recommendation for growers who are interested in establishing new orchards is to use a variety of cultivars to help minimize the risk of disease and pest issues.
“Since 2008, UGA researchers in Tifton have been working with alternative cultivars that are resistant to pecan scab, have low input requirements, are high yielding and produce great quality nuts. Some of the best varieties we’ve seen are ‘Excel,’ ‘Lakota,’ ‘Gafford,’ ‘McMillan,’ and ‘Kanza’ — a cold-tolerant variety that may be better suited for growers in north Georgia as well,” said Sawyer.
Low-Input Cultivars
Low-input cultivars provide an economic benefit to growers, especially in southeast Georgia, because orchards in this region tend to be managed through commercial practices but on a much smaller scale than found elsewhere in the state.
“When you have a smaller operation, but still have to shell out a lot of time and money into your crop, the cost-benefit ratio sometimes doesn’t work to your advantage,” said Sawyer. “That’s why these low-input cultivars are so attractive. It means growers can save more time and money and end up with a great quality, high-yielding product without all the heavy investments. So, the Vidalia Onion Research Farm will be a great location in this part of the state to observe these low-input cultivars,” he added.
As research plots are established this winter, trees will be planted in such a way to accomplish both long-term variety research and short-term applied research goals. Sawyer and his team will host several demonstrations at the research farm over the next few years to allow Extension agents and growers to participate in hands-on training about topics including planting, pruning, grafting, irrigation, pest and disease prevention strategies, and making herbicide treatments using different chemistries and rotations.
One thing is certain about this year’s pecan crop in Alabama and Georgia – it is loaded. One thing that is not certain is what kind of price those pecans command at the market once they’re harvested this fall.
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells said there are various factors that will impact prices for farmers this year, starting with China.
“We don’t know what China is going to do, with COVID-19 and with the tariff situation and all the political issues we’ve got between our two countries. There’s a lot of uncertainty there about if they’re going to buy. You hear a lot of different things and don’t know how much of it is accurate,” Wells said. “I think some of the accumulators have told me that they’re starting to get a little interest from China but not like they normally do at this time.”
Domestic Market Concerns
Wells also added that the domestic market will once again be impacted by the influx of pecans from Mexico. Unfortunately, those imports should depress the market price.
“I don’t see that changing anytime soon,” Wells said.
Wells said harvest season should begin no later than mid-September with the Pawnee varieties. Other varieties like Oconee and Caddo will be picked at the end of September and early October.
Wells hopes early pecans will attract a strong price.
“The early good stuff this year is probably going to bring, hopefully, a decent price. It may not be what we want. But that may be some of the better prices we see. Who knows?” Wells said. “But early like this when it is early, it gives an opportunity for the gift packed market to get in there and buy what they need. The prices on the gift packed market are usually decent. But they want top quality stuff. That’s one thing we’re seeing when talking with buyers is you really need to have good quality if you want to even get a halfway decent price. Quality’s going to become more and more in demand.”
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.”
The Alabama Pecan Co. was represented as part of Sweet Grown Alabama Day last week on July 22.
More than 150 farmers are part of the Sweet Grown Alabama database. Director Ellie Watson believes the sweetgrownalabama website is an integral part of connecting the state’s producers with its consumers.
“We have a pretty great representation across all counties and all areas of the state. Of course, we’re still looking to grow that database,” Watson said. “We know that 150 folks is just a drop in the bucket of great farmers in the state of Alabama. We’re still looking for great farmers to join our network and become part of this family.”
Watson and other Alabama agricultural leaders continue to promote the “buy local” initiative which focuses on consumers supporting farmers in their state. This new website allows consumers to access information relevant to the commodity they’re searching for as well as determine where growers are located.
“It’s been really tough for consumers to connect with farmers directly up until now. Now consumers have a one-stop shop where they can find all of the local farmers in their area. It may even connect them with farmers who are right down the road,” Watson said.
“One of my growers told me (the other) week that he had a lady who lived not three miles down the road who didn’t even know he existed. Through Sweet Grown Alabama she was able to connect with him. He said she purchased about $250 worth of his product. To find those local farmers and allow consumers to make those connections with folks right in their neighborhood is an invaluable resource.”
Variety of Options
The website is also not limited to traditional fruits and vegetables, either.
“Not only do we have a great listing of produce growers, but we also have farmers who are producing things like beef and pecans and other non-traditional produce products. It really is a network you can find any product that is grown in Alabama,” Watson said. “We don’t grow everything in the state of Alabama, but we encourage consumers, when they have the option and when it’s in season, to purchase from Alabama farmers first.”
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’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 producers will soon enter a critical point in this year’s production season in ensuring their trees have adequate moisture. If the current dry period continues as expected into August, water needs will be even more essential.
According to UGA Extension Pecan Management calendar, water needs increase from 120 to 158 gallons per tree per day in July to 300 to 350 gallons per tree per day in August. The needs increase from 1,440 to 1,896 gallons per acre per day in July to 3,600 to 4,200 gallons per acre per day in August.
“If we turn off really hot and dry in August and September, which we have seen happen many times in the past, if you’re not watering adequately during that time, mid-August through September, you can lose a lot of your crop,” University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells said. “Especially when they’re really loaded, there’s a huge water demand there. If they get stressed at all for water in a situation like that, they’ll start aborting nuts. It would be a big problem.
“We really need to get really good kernel fillings. We do need a few timely rains during that mid-August to that mid-September period to really help us get kernels filled like we need. Especially when the trees are this loaded.”
Irrigation will be critical. According to Pam Knox, UGA Extension Agricultural Climatologist, hot and dry conditions are expected to persist throughout the Southeast for the next month.
An increasing likelihood of a La Nina weather event this fall could impact row crop farmers and specialty crop producers as well, said Pam Knox, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agricultural Climatologist.
“When we do have a La Nina, we do tend to have a little bit drier than normal fall. Dryness in the fall isn’t necessarily bad. It’s helpful for the people that’s trying to harvest. It’s just that if you’re trying to fill in the last of the pecans or get a little more growth out of the peanuts then dry conditions are not necessarily good,” Knox said.
According to the pecan production calendar, pecan’s water requirements are especially high in August and September. UGA pecan experts say water needs are 300 to 350 gallons per tree per day or 3,600 to 4,200 gallons per acre per day.
Knox said we are in a La Nina watch right now and is unclear how strong of a La Nina it’s could be.
“Typically, when we have a La Nina occurring, and right now we’re under a La Nina watch, the conditions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean are cooler than normal. They’re expected to stay that way. Usually it takes four months before they’ll declare an official La Nina,” Knox said. “The predictions are it might last until January or February and then go back to neutral conditions. It’s not necessarily one that’s going to be really long.”
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.
