Andrew Sawyer

  • A very seasoned and veteran pecan grower told me this week, “I’ve always believed if anything shut down the pecan industry it would be a hurricane.” One would expect hurricane damage in Augusta to come from an Atlantic storm, not a storm from the Gulf of Mexico. I want to acknowledge that there are more…

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  • Young Trees Crashing

    Since late May, I’ve seen a number of trees between the ages of 2nd and 4th leaf suddenly crash. The leaves remain on the tree after turning completely brown. All of this is during the dry and hot spell. It is essentially as if something is clogging the vascular system in which the leaves starve…

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  • Stem Phylloxera

    There has been a number of reports of a strange tissue growth on the stems of compound leaves and even around developing nutlet. There are three species of phylloxera on pecan. Most everyone is familiar with the species that causes warts on the leaves referred to as Leaf Phylloxera. Tiny, soft-body, aphid like insects feed…

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  • Pre-Emergent Herbicide Rotations

    Among many other things to do in the orchard, now is also the time to start our pre-emergent herbicide programs for the spring. With the price of glyphosate and glufosinate increase in 2021, I began working with pre-emergent herbicides for pecan at the Vidalia Onion Research Center. Though post emergent prices have come down some,…

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  • 2023 Ambrosia Beetle Update

    It looks like we are seeing the first flight. Dr. Barman has seen good hits on new trials in Ware County and Brooks County. East Georgia is having consistent flights now (February 20th).There are two particular groups of pecan growers that need to be aware of ambrosia beetle flights: In the 2015 – 2016 era,…

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  • Anthracnose

    Anthracnose, bacterial leaf scorch, nutrient imbalance and mites are common causes of leaf scorch. Starting this July, we started seeing leaf scorch in our mature trees. When we see scorch, the UGA Plant Disease Clinic can confirm if a pathogen is the cause. Bacterial leaf scorch is generally found a one or a few varieties.…

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  • Pecan Insects and Heat

    With the very high temperatures this week and last, there is no point in spraying for insects when the temps are in the 95+ range. Extreme heat slows and then stops reproduction in insects like mites and aphids and will shorten the life span (kill) when it gets up near 100. Materials that rely on leaf…

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