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Picturing nut size
For the first time in 3 years, we have received enough summer rainfall to promote a more normal development of nut size. This fact gave me the opportunity to photograph all of the cultivars I have...
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Fall color in the pecan grove
Kanza tree, 24 Oct. 2024 Most years we experience a hard freeze in late October that causes the complete defoliation of green leaves from our trees. This year, the combination of warm fall days...
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Pecan cultivars ripening in late September
I continue to monitor shuck-split for the pecan cultivars I have growing on my farm. Even though it seems like we are sliding back into drought conditions this fall, nut size and kernel quality...
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Pecan shuck-split underway
Earlton, 13 Sept. 2024 Each Fall, I scout my pecan orchard to record the date of 50% shuck-split for each cultivar and breeding selection. As usual, Earlton was the first cultivar to split shuck...
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Spring bud development 2024
Kanza, 8 Apr. 2024 On April 8th, while the nation was enamored with watching a solar eclipse, I was in my pecan grove watching new growth emerge from branch terminals in my pecan grove. It's the...
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Inspecting my scionwood crop
Today's bright sunshine and cloudless sky provided me with a great opportunity to photograph my pecan scionwood crop (photo at right). I've been harvesting scions from these same trees for over 6...
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Thinning trees to maximize light penetration and remove problems
All summer long I take mental notes on tree spacing within my orchard. This past summer, I noticed several areas in my pecan breeding block that were becoming crowded. Limbs of adjacent trees were...
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Pecan cultivars that ripened in October
Jayhawk, 4 Oct. 2023 In my area of Kansas, pecan cultivars must ripen by mid-October to reliably split open their shucks before the first killing freeze in the Fall. Pictured here are some of...
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Pecan cultivars continue to ripen as we head into October
Kanza, 2 Oct. 2023 This year I recorded October 2nd as the ripening date for Kanza. My Kanza trees have produced an excellent crop this year as you can tell by the photo at right. When Kanza first...
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Cultivars that ripen on the same day as Pawnee
Pawnee, 27 Sept. 2023. Pawnee is one of the most popular pecan cultivars adapted to short season climates (photo at right). Large nut size and early ripening are the main positive cultivar...
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Pecan shuck split dates for of early ripening cultivars
This fall, timely rain showers have helped pop open pecan shucks on a more normal schedule. Over the past week, I've been photographing each cultivar on the day I find at least 50% of nut shucks...
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Strong thunderstorms roll through the area
During the summers of 2022 and 2023 we suffered through extremely dry conditions in our area. However, last night we finally received some much needed relief. This morning I dumped 2.98 inches of...
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Earlton: First cultivar to ripen in 2023
Earlton, 15 Sept. 2023 It has been a long hot summer with just barely enough rainfall to produce a pecan crop. Our dry summer weather has created smaller than normal pecans with some kernel...
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Observing pecan budbreak
After a long winter, Spring finally arrived to the pecan grove. This year, I decided to photograph pecan bud development and leaf burst as it occurred during the month of April. Each week, I...
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Looking inside a pecan graft union
Whenever I remove a pecan tree, I like to save the portion of the trunk that contains the graft union. After drying a few weeks, I slice open the trunk with a band saw hoping to reveal the...
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Pecan Harvest 2022: Making the best of a bad situation
Following an extended summer drought and an early Fall freeze, the outlook for my 2022 pecan harvest season looked bleak. Staring up into the canopies of my trees all I could see were small black...
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Deep freeze blasts drought stressed pecan trees
Kanza leaves and shucks killed by freeze It has been over a week since a strong arctic air mass descended across the central plains and ended the 2022 growing season. I recorded 19 degrees F (-7 C)...
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Erratic shuck-split during this drought year
Caney, 15 Oct 2022 Our local weatherman is predicting a strong cold front to drop temperatures into the low 20's by tomorrow morning. Once that happens, the 2022 pecan growing season will come to...
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Extreme drought impacts pecan shucksplit
During the first week of October, I usually note several pecan cultivars that have split shuck. However, this year, the extended drought has delayed the normal timing of nut ripening. The photo at...
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Tree spacing influences nut production during drought
The other day I was scouting my orchard for pecan shuck split when I noticed a dramatic difference in nut size and ripening between a young grafted Caney tree and the mature mother Caney tree...
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