How long will a pecan tree produce fruit

How long will a pecan tree produce fruit? Nuts can be

retrieved from the branches by cracking the shell,

and from an immature tree by biting or breaking the shell.

In the case of a sweet orchard, it's best to leave

the nuts in the tree. Harvesting provides food for

insects and birds, benefits the soil, and helps keep

it clean and weed free.

Are there special handling requirements?

Nuts stored at the proper temperature can be stored

for years without rotting. However, nuts without

shells that are tightly wrapped in plastic or a container

filled with air pockets may need to be refrigerated.

Unshelled nuts are best stored in the refrigerator

for up to 1 month, although some people recommend

storing unshelled nuts for only 7 days. After 1 month,

they should be transferred to the freezer to prolong

storage for up to 6 months. Once frozen, nuts should

not be thawed.

Does an orchard produce different yields of

nuts based on the variety or the planting?

Planting for nut production is usually a specialty

of a certain type of orchard. Most orchards of commercially

important varieties include: sweet, black, and

butter. Typically, the yield from a tree is 15 to 25

lb. of nut product per year. In other words, each

tree produces between 75 and 150 lb. of nuts per year.

Nuts from sweet and black varieties are usually less

than 1 lb. each, while nuts from the butter variety

are most often over 1 lb. and can be as high as 3

lb. or more.

When is the best time to plant for nut production?

The following are the ideal temperatures for different

growing areas: the Coastal Plain: 78 to 86 degrees,

the Piedmont: 74 to 81 degrees, the North Carolina

Tablelands: 62 to 71 degrees. In general, these

are ideal for "cold-hardy" nut types. If you are

not sure what type of nuts your orchard will produce,

you should probably plant earlier in the season,

and preferably closer to the ground.

Which plants will be most difficult to manage?

Some plants need to be picked while they are still

green and contain moisture. Harvesting nuts from

some of these should be postponed until after the

plant has flowered, or the fruit has been allowed

to dry completely on the tree. Some should be picked

when the fruit is soft and easy to remove, as opposed

to one that has been allowed to grow to maturity.

Although different varieties of pecan may vary slightly

in their optimum ripeness, in general the trees that

bear first are the most mature and the ones that bear

second are younger and usually more tender. However,

the nut in some varieties grows faster and becomes

mature before the rest of the tree, and some varieties

are more prone to picking than others.

What equipment should be used for picking pecans?

The preferred picking machine is a climbing cherry

picker, which is also known as a peanut picker.

It picks the nuts from the limb with a small cage

that encircles the tree and the branches without

impacting the tree's health. If a rope and pulley

system is used to raise the fruit to the ground, you

should provide climbing supports for the fruit to

prevent falling. You can also use a vacuum system

to pick the fruit.

When should I harvest?

Harvest should be done when the nuts are "buttery"

and soft. They should have fallen from the tree.

This is usually the first or second week in October,

and the second or third week in October, depending

on the variety and location.

Can I pick the fruit and eat it?

Yes, you can eat it raw or dry it for winter storage.

It can be shelled and eaten with a spoon. Peanuts

and peanuts can be popped for a different flavor.

Why is a pecan shell wet?

A wet shell will absorb moisture from the air,

which causes the nuts to become soft and harden.

When nuts are harvested, the tree's trade-off of

tearing the branch with the hanging nuts is made

in favor of removing the hard shell with the fruit.

If a tree is infected with a botrytis fungus, it will

not have a proper trade-off. Therefore, if the tree

is infected with this disease, it is best to leave

the fruit on the branch and not harvest the nuts.

How do I pick pecans?

The best tool to use is a cherry picker. The tree

can be raised, which makes the job easier and

brings the fruit closer to the ground. The cherries

are removed from the tree with an effective pruner

and the empty cherries are replaced by cherries

from a higher tree. To avoid opening a wound on

the tree, the pruner should be opened before it

makes contact with the branch. It is best to keep

the pruner above the tree's canopy. Using this

method, the tree does not need to be caged. However,

you can cage the tree if you want. If you are not

sure of the height of the tree, you can stand

underneath and use a pulley system to raise the

fruit to the ground. You can use a vacuum system

to gather the nuts.

Where can I buy a cherry picker?

Pickers are available through professional companies

and through the home improvement and hardware

stores. Although pickers are expensive, they are

often cheaper than owning and maintaining your own

climbing cherry picker.

How should the tree be caged?

You should prune before the nuts have set,

and prune on a thinning rotation. Prune enough

to remove the crop and then leave the rest of the

tree to grow back, since pruning in this way will

grow a thicker, stronger tree. If you