Horticulture

  • Importance of Irrigation for Shuck Split

    While activities have been significantly impacted in southeastern Georgia’s pecan region from the damage and loss inflicted by Hurricane Helene, some growers who had minimal damage and those West of I-75 have harvested Pawnee and are beginning to harvest the next mature varieties. Many are finding that there are still a lot of green shucks…

    Posted in:
  • 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…

    Posted in: ,
  • I apologize for being this late in reporting what we are seeing and hearing but I have just had my internet access restored following the storm. To say the least, the effects are absolutely devastating, not just for the pecan industry, but for many communities throughout Eastern Georgia. We’ve seen a lot of hurricanes over…

    Posted in: ,
  • The call of the week has been concern over leaf drop, not exclusively, but primarily on ‘Desirable’. This often occurs after we go through a hot, dry period followed by rain or an increase in irrigation. Desirable is sensitive ot just about anything that can affect a pecan tree and they respond to heat/drought (yes,…

    Posted in: , ,
  • 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…

    Posted in: ,
  • Mid-Season Status of Georgia Pecan Crop

    Last week, the Tri-State Meeting estimated the current Georgia crop at 130 million lbs. I don’t know if that is wrong or right. It is nearly impossible to put a number on Georgia’s crop because the calibration of its size is in such a state of flux. We have acres of trees coming into and…

    Posted in: , , ,
  • 2023 Pecan Crop Update

    The Georgia pecan harvest is well underway and many growers are not pleased with what they’re finding. Overall the state crop is off by about 1/3 of what was expected according to many growers. The region in extreme southern Georgia and east Georgia through which Hurricane Idalia passed is suffering from a further, storm-reduced crop…

    Posted in: , ,