By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s pecan production netted 125 million pounds this past season. That number could reach 200 million pounds in a few years, believes Lenny Wells, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension pecan specialist.
“I think a 200-million pound crop out of Georgia is a strong likelihood over the next few years,” Wells said.
Wells’ outlook on Georgia’s crop stems from the influx of younger trees that are starting to produce a crop. As trees become more mature, that’s additional pecans that will be ready when harvest season rolls around in the fall.
“I think we’ve got to start getting in the mindset that we’ve got a lot more pecans now than we used to have. All of those plantings that we did 10 to 15 years ago are now coming into production. Our tree population is a lot younger overall than it used to be,” Wells said. “When we go out and look at that crop late summer and estimate it, as harvest is approaching, what used to look like a 40- or 50-million pound crop is now an 80- to 90-million pound crop. What used to look like a 90- to 100-million pound crop is now a 120- to 130-million pound crop. We’ve just got to recalibrate the way we see what’s out there.
“They may still look the same when you go out in the orchard, but there’s a lot more orchards and a lot more younger trees out there than there used to be.”
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