Monday, October 2, 2017

Pecan cultivar shuck-split: October 2, 2017

Faith, 2 Oct. 2017
    The weather man is predicting an extended wet period starting in a couple of days. So today, I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the sunshine and check pecan cultivars for shuck-split. I found 13 cultivars with newly split shucks (photos at right and below).  As you look over the photos, keep these observations in mind.
Gardner, 2 Oct. 2017
 1) Peruque and USDA 75-8-9 should have shuck split last week but serious scab infections delayed shuck opening. Both cultivars are almost completely black with scab lesions.
 2) I couldn't resist taking a photo of a very large Pawnee nut cluster. There are 9 nuts in the photo below. The average Pawnee nut cluster has 4 pecans this year.
Pawnee, 2 Oct. 2017
 3) Jayhawk has a very heavy nut set this year. The photo below shows 3 Jayhawk clusters all hanging from a single limb. With this much nut set in 2017, the 2018 Jayhawk crop will be light or non-existent.

Jayhawk, 2 Oct. 2017
Eclipse, 2 Oct. 2017
Major, 2 Oct 2017

Mandan, 2 Oct. 2017
Peruque, 2 Oct. 2017

USDA 61-1-15, 2 Oct 2017

USDA 61-1-X, 2 Oct. 2017
USDA 75-8-9, 2 Oct. 2017
Waccamaw, 2 Oct. 2017
Yates 68, 2 Oct. 2017