Volume 1, Issue 1 April 20, 2011 COMANCHE COUNTY PECAN NEWS Texas AgriLife Extension Service EARLY SEASON PECAN MANAGEMENT TOUR PECAN COMMITTEE Don Alderman Danny Davis Carlton Cullers Will Cullers Andrew Garza Paul Lollar Jeff Loudermilk Bill Sorrell Gayland Sorrells Kinley Sorrells Larry Don Womack Larry Jim Womack Inside this issue: Early Season Tour 1 Zinc Deficiencies 2 New Pesticide Update Book PNC Web Sites 2 Pecan Grading Demonstration 2 3-6 The Texas AgriLife Extension s Comanche County Pecan Committee will be hosting an Early Season Pecan Management Tour on May 10, 2011 at the Comanche Community Center located at 100 Indian Creek Drive in Comanche, Texas. The program will begin with registration at 9:30 a.m. We will conclude with a sponsored lunch at noon. There will be a registration fee of $10.00 associated with this program. If paying by check please may checks payable to Agriculture Program Account. The program will begin with Extension Entomologist, Dr. Allen Knutson speaking on the management of Pecan Nut Casebearer and additional insects that we find in the early season. Following Dr. Knutson will be Extension Horticulturist, Dr. Larry Stein from Uvalde. Dr. Stein will be discussing water, fertility and crop load management during dry conditions. Two CEU s will be offered for producers with a Texas Department of Agriculture Private, Commercial or Non-Commercial Pesticide Applicator License: one hour in IPM and one in General. Individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid, service or accommodation in order to participate in this tour are encouraged to contact the Extension office at 325/356.2539 by Friday, May 6th to determine how reasonable accommodations can be made.
Page 2 COMANCHE COUNTY PECAN NEWS Narrow, crinkled leaves show zinc deficiency Important Considerations for Zinc Application Zinc application is probably one of the most critical and important steps to producing pecans. There are numerous products on the market that look at soil application, fertilizer application, etc. but the foliar applications are still the best and most productive. POINTS TO REMEMBER: The most effective method is through foliar sprays Apply to the young developing buds, leaves and shoots Absorption into the leaf is critical Optimum absorption occurs when zinc compounds are suspended in water and remain wetted on the the surface. High humidity at spraying can slow evaporation ZINC DEFECIENCIES: Small narrow, crinkled leaves growing on thin shoots with shortened internodes Results include low nut yield and poor quality Prolonged zinc deficiency can lead to shoot, branch and canopy die back NEW - UPDATED PECAN INSECT FIELD GUIDE The publication Field Guide to the Insects and Mites of Pecan, B-6055 has been updated and reprinted and is now available for sale. This field guide can be purchased through the Texas Pecan Grower Associations Bookstore: 979-846-3285, or through the Texas AgriLife Extension Bookstore, https://agrilifebookstore.org/ or 979-458-0452. The cost is $15.00 plus tax and shipping for a total cost of $19.24 for Texas residents and $18.00 for all others. **** Unfortunately during the initial sales it was discovered that a few guides had some missing pages. If your field guide has some missing pages please return it to the seller and you will get a free replacement. **** PECAN NUT CASEBEARER You should have traps out to monitor Pecan Nut Casebearer Moths at this time. You can monitor Casebearer activity for different regions of the state by logging onto the following web-sites: http://pncforecast.tamu.edu http://pecankernel.tamu.edu
Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 3 Summary Evaluation of Pecan Varieties by Grading Texas AgriLife Extension Service Comanche County Comanche County Pecan Producers Cooperators Whit H. Weems Comanche County hosts an annual County Pecan Show each year in December for commercial growers and homeowners alike to learn how their pecans stack up to the others in the area. The pecan show has been in place for several years and provides growers with the nuts per pound and percent kernel of their pecans. Objective The Comanche County Pecan Grading demonstration evaluates the pecans by comparing the nuts per pound and the percent kernel of all pecans entered in the Comanche County Pecan Show. This allows us to determine the pecan varieties that are most suitable and best adapted for the area. By maintaining and reviewing the records from previous years we can determine which pecan varieties excel in size and percent kernel. Materials and Methods Samples of 45 nuts must be submitted to the Comanche County Pecan Show. These nuts must be one variety and cannot be a mixed sample. 10 nuts will be randomly pulled from the sample and weighed, cracked, shelled and the kerned weighed. This will allow tabulators to determine the nuts per pound and the percent kernel. Prior to weighing the kernel any abnormal or damaged kernels will be removed from the sample. Buyers and shellers will not pay for inedible kernels. After samples have been shelled and kernels weighed, formulas are used to determine the nuts per pound and the percent kernel. To determine the size of the pecans we take 4356 and divide it by the weight of the inshell nuts. This will provide us with how many pecans it takes to make 1 lb. Once we have calculated the size we will determine the percent edible kernel. This is determined by taking the weight of the edible kernel and dividing it by the weight of the inshell nuts. The percent kernel provides us with what percentage of edible pecan meat is in the pecans. A judge will then evaluate the pecans by comparing the size, percent kernel, uniformity and quality of the sample.
Page 4 Newsletter Title Results and Discussion Table 1 provides the results of the 2010 Comanche County Pecan Show, Classic Division. Table 1: 2010 Comanche County Pecan Show Classic Division # Variety Grower County Weight of Nuts Size Edible Kernel % Edible Kernel County Award 101 Caddo Gebert Comanche 60.2 72.36 32.6 54.15 2 102 Caddo Muhle Comanche 64.3 70.54 35.2 54.74 1 201 Cheyenne McCasland Comanche 99.1 45.77 52.8 53.28 1 202 Cheyenne Sorrells Comanche 89.1 50.91 50.5 56.68 2 203 Cheyenne Womack Comanche 88.4 51.31 48.4 54.75 3 401 Desirable Gebert Comanche 126.5 35.86 63.7 50.36 1 402 Desirable Womack Comanche 80.8 56.14 43.6 53.96 2 501 Forkert McCasland Comanche 79.6 56.98 46.1 57.91 1 601 Hopi Womack Comanche 72.6 62.48 42.8 58.95 1 & GC Commercial 701 Kanza Sorrells Comanche 72.0 63.00 37.1 51.53 1 801 Kiowa Sorrells Comanche 95.6 47.45 54.0 56.49 1 901 Oconee Womack Comanche 91.2 49.74 50.5 55.38 1 1101 Nacona Womack Comanche 91.2 49.74 49.1 53.84 1 1201 Pawnee Sorrells Comanche 93.4 48.57 54.7 58.57 1 & RC Commercial 1401 Sioux Womack Comanche 61.3 74.00 36.3 59.22 1
Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5 Table 2 provides the results of the 2010 Comanche County Pecan Show, Classic Division. Table 2: 2010 Comanche County Pecan Show Commercial Division 1601 Wichita Gebert Comanche 105.7 42.91 60.5 57.24 2 1602 Wichita McCasland Comanche 87.6 51.78 51.6 58.90 1 1603 Wichita Sorrells Comanche 81.3 55.79 47.7 58.67 3 2001 Burkett Teich Comanche 85.6 52.99 44.8 52.34 1 2101 Cape Fear Sorrells Comanche 90.6 50.07 49.1 54.19 1 2501 Gra Tex Womack Comanche 89.1 50.91 56.9 63.86 2901 Maramec Muhle Comanche 85.5 53.05 49.5 57.89 1 & GC Classic 1 & RC Classic 3901 Success Teich Comanche 79.4 57.13 39.9 50.25 1 4101 Variety Seedling McCasland Comanche 94.1 48.20 51.3 54.52 1 4102 Variety Seedling Sorrells Comanche 87.0 52.14 48.3 55.52 2 4103 Variety Seedling Sorrells Comanche 76.1 59.61 37.6 49.41 4104 Variety Seedling Muhle Comanche 76.8 59.06 44.5 57.94 3 4105 Variety Seedling McCasland Comanche 68.7 66.03 36.6 53.28 4201 Other Muhle Comanche 84.4 53.74 48.3 57.23 1 Table 3 provides the results of the 2010 Comanche County Pecan Show, Native Division. Table 3: 2010 Comanche County Pecan Show Native Division 4301 Native Sorrells Comanche 38.6 117.51 18.0 46.63 4302 Native Sorrells Comanche 41.9 108.26 19.4 46.30 2 & RC Native 4303 Native McCasland Comanche 59.2 76.62 23.9 40.37 3 4304 Native Muhle Comanche 57.1 79.44 33.7 59.02 1 & GC Native 4305 Native McCasland Comanche 30.4 149.21 14.9 49.01 4306 Native Bean Comanche 40.1 113.12 19.0 47.38 4307 Native Bean Comanche 80.8 56.14 17.8 22.03 4308 Native Bean Comanche 71.0 63.89 11.7 16.48 4309 Native Burks Comanche 48.6 93.33 21.2 43.62 4501 Lightest Native Teich Comanche 12.2 371.80 1
Pecan Grading Conclusions Business Name Texas AgriLife Extension Service Comanche County 101 W Central, Suite 101-B Comanche, TX 76442 Phone: 325-356-2539 Fax: 325-356-3710 E-mail: w-weems@tamu.edu The Comanche County Pecan crop varied in quality and size across the county in 2010. This was based on the environmental conditions and producer management practices. Overall the crop quantity and quality was average. This year s prices were extremely good creating a very positive year for commercial producers. Late rains toward the end of August and first part of September saved the late maturing varieties such as Wichita. There was some stink bug damage and limited weevil emergence. Pecan Show entries showed some stink bug damage but mainly on homeowner and/or small acreage producers. We re on the Web!! http://comanche-tx.tamu.edu County, Regional and State Pecan Shows provide producers and pecan enthusiasts with an excellent opportunity to learn about grading pecans and how their pecans compare to others in the area. Understanding how to grade pecans and determine percent kernel is an important marketing and management tool for anyone who is trading pecans.