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Written by Administrator
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This morning I've been watching a dozen bees working over the sasanqua tree outside my office window. The bees remind me of the buzz of the machinery at work now in the orchards, harvesting pecans while the weather is dry. It's a huge undertaking, as you can see in the Bass Harvest video on the website. The subject of this blog is how those nuts get there, and a part of that is pollination. Here's the essential information you need to know to get proper pollination of pecan trees. Unlike the sasanqua, pecans are wind pollinated. Both male and female flowers occur on all pecan trees. There are not male and female pecan trees, as is the case with mayhaw and ginkgo among many others. Each pecan tree will have both flowers, but both may not be ready for pollination at the same time. Cross-pollination with another tree of a compatible, but different, variety greatly increases pollination and nut crops, and strengthens the genetics of the trees. Cross-pollination happens because the pollen of one tree is ready when the female flower is receptive on the partner tree, and vice versa. Both trees will produce nuts. The pollen is borne on the breeze from one tree to the other. Some pecans are more able than most to pollinate their own female flowers with their own male flowers. They are said to be self-fertile, but they also benefit from cross-pollination. When you are looking for a pollinator variety for your chosen pecan tree on our website, check the bottom of the page, where related products are listed for some suggestions. |
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Bass Pecan and Mississippi State University co-sponsored workshops this fall titled, ‘Growing Pecans and Fruits’. A big note of thanks to our speakers: Dr. Frank Matta, MSU Plant and Soil Sciences, Starkville Professor of Horticulture at MSU, Frank teaches classes, conducts research and oversees graduate studies at the University. His knowledge of pecan growing physiology is complemented by his extensive work with fruit crops. He shares my enthusiasm for organic growing. David Ingram is Extension/Research Plant Pathologist at the Raymond facility (Central MS Research Center) working with pecans, vegetable crops, and Christmas trees. He knows what it takes to keep pecan trees productive and will teach you about their nutrition needs and how to meet and measure them. For 21 years, David has educated the public about plant diseases and made us all smarter. Dr. John Braswell, Extension Horticulture Specialist, MSU, South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, Poplarville, MS. John is a specialist in fruit crops and the first person to welcome me to the Deep South Fruit and Vegetable Growers conference my first year there. I listened to him talk about blueberries, and quickly realized why he is sought after by fruit growers everywhere. We will be posting the presentations on our site, and the information is valuable…stay tuned! 
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Pecans are falling every day now and it’s been wetter than usual this October in much of the Southeast US. That makes for a tough harvest, whether you’re picking nuts up by hand or using mechanical harvest equipment as we do at Bass Pecan. Check out the video posted on our site to see the scene in the orchard. TIP: Fall is a fine time to plant pecan trees, and the first step in that direction may be a soil test. If you live where azalea, camellia, and blueberry plants do well in the native soil, conditions may be a bit on the acid side for best pecan tree growth. Lime applied this fall can remedy the situation and a soil test can tell you how much to use. It’s easy to do and not expensive – contact your county agent for instructions and fees. Lime may also be an issue if established pecan trees aren’t putting on the crop you expect. |
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Introducing: Blogger-in-Chief Nellie Neal |
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WHO: I am the Horticulture Manager for Bass Pecan Company and a garden advisor known as ‘GardenMama’. I answers questions from people who grow pecan trees (and those who want to) that come to Bass Pecan via phone calls and email. The 10 most common questions and their answers are included in the FAQ at the top of this blog. Many more questions and answers about pecan trees can be found in the Pecan Q/A Archive on this blog. I am blogging here because I want everyone to love pecan trees as much as I do, and to gain confidence about growing them by interacting here with both backyard growers and professional orchardists. WHY: Bass Pecan Company wants to be the best source for pecan growing information available anywhere. That starts with the information on our website about each variety that we sell, continues into the new version of the venerable ‘Bass Pecan Guide to Planting and Growing Pecan Trees’, and goes interactive with this blog. Your questions, comments, and posts about growing pecan trees will become part of this reference site so others can benefit, too. WHAT: I will post a new topic for your consideration at least weekly, blogging about important pecan care, interesting research, and alternative practices including organics. I will answer the questions you send to the blog, review all of your submissions and photos, and post them promptly. |
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