UGA pecan specialist Lenny Wells posted a story this week on his blog about the yields that pecans are showing this year. He noted that while the tree loads of early varieties appear to be good, the weights of those loads are light. He indicated that the most likely culprit for this is the extended cloudy, rainy conditions we had throughout much of the growing season, followed by severe drought. He also noted that “the greatest concern at this point is the ongoing hot, dry conditions throughout much of the state. Once kernel filling is completed the water use of the tree declines but the trees still need water to complete the nut maturity and shuck split process.” If you are a pecan grower or work with them, you should check out his post on what to do for the remainder of this growing season to maximize the yield of pecans by irrigating appropriately. You can read his blog at https://site.extension.uga.edu/pecan/2025/10/pecan-harvest-update-hot-dry-conditions-following-kernel-fill-can-lead-to-pecan-problems/.
