Topics in this months newsletter include water splits, pecan scab and wrapping up fungicide programs, insects, and water and nutrient management in August. Also, don’t forget to RSVP and attend the SE Georgia Pecan Field Day
Southeast Georgia Pecan Field Day
Water Split
With as much Rain as we have had since early May it is very likely that we will begin to see some nut drop due to water splits. I have already started seeing some very large oversized nuts across orchards in Appling County. See below a link to a recent post by Dr. Lenny Wells on this matter.
Pecan Scab and Wrapping up Fungicide Programs
Speaking with Dr. Brenneman a couple weeks back, he believes this is one of the worse scab years he has seen in his career. He has seen far many more years than I, but I would agree with him, looking at orchards in the county we are “quite ate up” with scab, especially on our more susceptible varieties. We can blame weather for this, especially were we have stuck with our strong fungicide programs. Below is a statement from August 14, 2023 by Dr. Lenny Wells on wrapping up fungicide programs.
“You should be able to stop Pawnee fungicide sprays at this point. We are past the point of shell hardening and the nuts are between the gel and dough stages in the kerenl filling process. For most other varieties were are at the point of shell hardening and the kernels are beginning the filling process. For such varieties that are clean, where you have good air flow and good to moderate disease resistance (Cape Fear, Sumner, Oconee, Creek, etc.), you should be able to stop spraying fungicide after this week or next week. You still need to apply at least one more fungicide spray beyond shell hardening on Desirable or other highly susceptible cultivars or on those where scab is currently present.”
Insects
In my blog post last month, I spoke about keeping an eye out for mites and aphids. As I have been riding around the county I have seen little to no pressure from either of these pests. Leaf scorch mites are a hot and dry pest and the wet weather we have had has likely played some role in the low populations of mites this year. But with me saying I have not seen much, still do not let your guard down and stay a watch. Give me a call for treatment options if you suspect an increasing population of either or both pests in your orchard.
Water and Nutrient Management in August
As I have said throughout his newsletter, we have received adequate rainfall for most of the season this year. Speaking with producers across the county many have not turned their sprinklers on much at all this year except for one dry spell we went through in early July. The point I want to make now though is that we don’t need to become complacent in not cutting on irrigation here in the last bit of the season. We are now at the most important time of year to be watering to finish out our crop. Dry Lennys rule of thumb on irrigation this time of year is “irrigating daily and turning the water off for 3 days only when you get a 2″ rain during this period”, but in years past when we have been real wet he has had other suggestions such as: “Perhaps turning off the irrigation for 3 days when you get a 1″ rain if you have been wet leading up to this period. If you get a 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch within that 3 day period, maybe leave it off a day or 2 longer. Examine your orchard soil and make a judgement call based on how long that soil moisture appears to persist.”
As far as nutrient management goes this time of year, assess your crop load, and if heavy, make third nitrogen application to mature trees. One-third of total expected annual rate. Do not apply nitrogen if there is little to no crop on trees.