By Clint Thompson
Frequent rain events in Georgia and Alabama have created a potential good and bad scenario for the states’ pecan producers.
Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Extension pecan specialist, highlighted how the increased rainfall has impacted the region’s pecan crop.
“From the standpoint of the crop’s needs, water is great for them. We’ve just gotten into the nut-sizing period which will pretty much run from now until the middle of August. Rain during that time is great for nut sizing and then we need it for August and September for kernel filling,” Wells said. “Our water demand goes up when the nut-sizing period arrives. It’s good for that, but also it could be bad in a way too for scab susceptible varieties. As those nuts rapidly expand, that’s when they’re most susceptible to pecan scab. The more frequent rain you have the more disease pressure you’re going to have. It’s kind of a double edge sword.
“You save money by turning your irrigation off, but you’ll also spend more money trying to spray to keep the scab off of them.”
According to the most recent release of the U.S. Drought Monitor, both Georgia and Alabama have sufficient moisture with zero dry conditions reported.
According to the UGA Weather Network, Albany, Georgia, received 4.31 inches of rainfall from June 1 to June 15. Moultrie, Georgia, received 4.67 inches during that same timeframe.
“Certainly, some areas are getting way more than what we need. An inch or two a week would be ideal, but even if you’re getting that, and if it’s coming on a daily basis or every other day basis, that makes it hard to keep up with your fungicide schedule,” Wells said.