After a month of dry weather, we finally received a nice rain shower both yesterday and today. The additional moisture will go a long way in helping early and mid-season ripening cultivars fill out their kernels. In the photo above, Osage kernel has fully filled the space inside the shell with only a hairline crack still visible between the dorsal and ventral sides of each kernel half. Kanza is nearly full but minor air pockets are still present inside the shell.
This week, Maramec is definitely starting to show indications that time is running out for this late-maturing cultivar. The kernel has developed a small layer of translucent kernel since last week but major air pockets have opened up on either side of the inner shell partition. These air pockets indicate that Maramec kernels will never fill the inside of the shell and nut quality at harvest will be poor at best. Rain this week might help, but I'm already expecting to see most of our Maramec nuts on the burn pile this fall.