By Clint Thompson
A disappointing start to the pecan harvest season has continued with the mid-season varieties, according to Lenny Wells, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension pecan specialist.
Wells noted in the UGA Extension Pecan Blog that issues like light loads, pops and stick-tights have been observed in mid-season varieties.
“Most growers are reporting a lot of ‘B’ grade nuts blown out in the cleaning plant, making wagon loads much lighter than they appeared leaving the orchards,” Wells wrote. “We are seeing this across the state. Later varieties like Stuart are showing some delayed shuck split, especially in orchards in which growers have shut off the irrigation too early.”
Multiple Factors
Wells attributes the issues to multiple factors, including excessive summer rains, cloudy conditions during the summer and extreme drought conditions since mid-August.
Wells continues to stress that growers apply irrigation up until a few days away from shaking the trees. He said producers should continue irrigation applications 7 to 8 hours every other day until the trees are ready for shaking.
“It may be too late in this process for some orchards but in the absence of significant rainfall, continued irrigation will be the only way to get these nuts open,” Wells noted.