![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QxKYvWi4-BEOqRkaM174rjDJe2piTd4wPjqqewh67U5trAULK3KHvt828MHdH-DK35JuSbNed6ZKOZ6Xtm98tJx6rDal3zUpKG2CQ2RQAlCz-K5r7Q2u47rDWU0MBI5t1j4Db_qzZWAs/s400/Major+4+oct+2016.JPG) |
Major, 4 Oct 2016 |
I was back out in the orchard looking for more cultivars with split shucks. Today, I found just three. Major is one of our standard northern pecan cultivars and a cultivar that has been around since 1908. Jayhawk is a seedling of Giles and Yates 68 looks to be a hybrid of Major and Posey.
The shucks of a Major nut split along the suture lines but hardly open up (photo at right). It will take a hard freeze to kill the green shucks before Major nuts are released from the tree.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZqEZL75WADNxvtEI3rhfdfdg8nKRaehA6gmPJQ9E_bBMBsuRl9UZ0J1PKpiHiP1EcoVaQdxJsw3tZcdRbebz-KB0f5kTm2EP4Dyej7_YCRAA7PUGJIFfVufmlidN2Czpp2Bzje8xtiLv/s400/jayhawk+4+oct+2016.JPG) |
Jayhawk, 4 Oct 2016 |
Jayhawk and Yates both yield well but their kernels have major defects. Jayhawk kernels are often mottled with light brown spots over the straw-colored nut meats. Yates 68 kernels turn dark quickly after harvest in a fashion similar to Posey.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpkpuSC666ZJFHhArvjD7l2odXbIotmAOF93aBpXDDp3LZYCYz_m5Jnr5Ds6IRErre6aLl4UHzplu9mlD5E_GHy9BKrLTmp17ASmohQst0xAqKRT9PKxRg5KzVPj0rVFUavf5XQTSyOwY/s400/yates+68+4+oct+2016.JPG) |
Yates 68, 4 Oct 2016 |