Between rain showers, I noticed the slightest amount of green tissue emerging from the terminals of pecan tree branches. I decided to take a closer look to see how this Spring's new growth was developing on my trees. After a tour of the grove,
I found that some cultivars still looked dormant while others had broken open their inner bud scales. Posted below are photos of pecan buds that I took today (30 March 2020). Each photo is identified by cultivar and the stage of bud development. This year, bud break seems to have started about a week earlier than average. If night-time temperature stay above 26 degrees F over the next three weeks, we should escape any freeze damage to emerging buds.
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Hark, dormant, 30 Mar 2020 |
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Kanza, Outer scale split, 30 Mar 2020 |
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Greenriver, Bud elongation, 30 Mar 2020 |
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Faith, Bud swell (protandrous cultivar), 30 Mar 2020 |
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KT149, Bud swell (protogynous cultivar), 30 Mar 2020 |