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Pecan cultivars ripening by October 1
Kanza, 1 October 2018 On the first day of October I found three cultivars on my farm with split shucks. The first cultivar I checked was Kanza (photo at right). When Kanza splits shuck, the green...
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When is shuck split?
While looking over trees in my orchard, I came across a young tree grafted to USDA 64-4-2. This is the third year after grafting and this tree was already setting on nuts. So I pulled down some...
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Why is the date of shuck split important for pecans?
Yates 68, 5 Oct. 2018 Every fall I have spent a lot of time in a hydraulic lift inspecting pecan cultivars for their date of shuck opening. Over the years I've created a photographic record of this...
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Fall flooding delays fall fertilizer application to pecan groves
In early October, I was trying to decide when to make my annual fall application of fertilizer to my pecan grove. At the time, daytime temperatures were still reaching the low 80's and the soil was...
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Cultivars splitting shuck in Mid-October
USDA 64-4-2, 8 Oct. 2018 On my farm, I have tried to limit the number of pecan cultivars I have grafted. I have focused on cultivars with both scab resistance and outstanding kernel quality. Hopefully...
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Fall fertilizing the pecan grove
Today, I fertilized my pecan orchard (photo above). The soil had finally dried up enough so I could run over the orchard with tractor and fertilizer buggy without making tire ruts. In addition, the...
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Fall planting of container grown pecan trees
Every spring I stick a few stratified pecan seeds in pots and grow my own rootstock trees. Today, I took advantage of perfect weather (sunny, low 70's) and moist soil conditions to load up some...
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Harvesting early maturing pecans
One of my prime objectives in breeding pecans is to discover new early maturing pecan cultivars that will ripen in northern pecan growing areas. Because most of the clones in my pecan breeding...
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Comparing Kanza and Hark nuts
This fall I have been taking a closer look at the performance of Hark as it compares to Kanza. Earlier this Fall I collected a nut sample from a Hark tree and an adjacent Kanza tree. I weighed out...
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Hard freeze drops pecan leaves and kills green shucks
Kanza nuts right after a deep freeze Last night we received our first killing freeze as temperatures dropped to 15 degrees F (-9.4 C). For pecan trees, temperatures need to drop below 26 degrees F...
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Evaluating nut samples
Last week we had a light snow fall that covered the pecan grove with about two inches of wet snow (photo at right). The snow turned out to be only .16 inches of precipitation but the cold weather...
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Thanksgiving harvest
Harvesting native pecans near Chetopa, KS Thanksgiving is an American Holiday with a long tradition of family gatherings and roast turkey dinners. But here in pecan country, today's bright sunshine...
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Pawnee needs crop load management
Pawnee is one of the most popular cultivars grown in our area (photo at right). The popularity of Pawnee is based on two factors; the nuts are big and they ripen early. However, Pawnee is a high...
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Twigs falling from pecan trees
This afternoon I decided to trim up some seedling pecan trees growing along the south edge of my farm. These trees are growing in the worst soil on my farm, an eroded Dennis silt loam that is...
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Pecan Mid-Winter twig health check
The 2018 pecan crop was much smaller than we all expected and the harvest season came and went in record time. When winter arrived, the cold and blustery weather has keep me out of the pecan grove...
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Beneficial insect egg masses on pecan trees.
While walking through my pecan grove, I spotted two very distinctive egg masses attached to the twigs of my trees. The egg mass pictured at right looks like a strange tumor growing from the...
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Trimming trees and collecting pecan scionwood
Yesterday was a great day to be outside. Good weather days have been rare this winter, so I took full advantage and starting trimming trees and collecting pecan scionwood. The young Kanza tree...
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Cutting pecan scionwood
Folks often ask me when is the best time for cutting pecan scionwood. Yesterday, while cutting my own scions, the answer presented itself. A large flock of honking geese flew overhead on their way...
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Still cutting pecan scionwood
The month of March sure came in like a lion. On the morning of March 4th, we recorded the coldest temperature for the 2018-2019 winter; 7 degrees F (-14 C). So when things warmed up a little this...
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Removing lower limbs
One of the most common pruning mistakes pecan growers make involves removing lower limbs. It seems like folks get in a hurry to trim off all lower limbs with the idea they can force the tree to...
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