By Wilbert Wiggs
As printed in The Daily Ardmoreite, August 26, 2007.

Southern Oklahoma's limb-breaking pecan crop has a way to go before the bumper production converts to cash.

Breaking limbs on nut-laden trees have been causing concern among area residents who normally don't give much attention to backyard trees. Many don't realize trees are putting on five and six nut clusters brought on by the drought-breaking rains back in May and June. Lush foliage brought on by those same showers is contributing to the sagging limbs which are breaking under the weight.

Wind and rain add to the weight problem.

Basil Savage, a commercial grower and pecan equipment manufacturer at Madill, said the rainfall clings to the dense foliage which catches wind like a boat sail to create additional stress of weak and sagging limbs. Savage and Jerry Rutledge, Oklahoma Pecan Co. owner, Ardmore, agree southern Oklahoma is in a good position to cash in on the '07 pecan crop, predicting 20 to 25 million pound crops from this region.

Carter County OSU Extension director Leland McDaniel rates the '07 nut growth the biggest crop load he's seen in 17 years. As to the broken limb problem, he said tree owners have two choices:

• Use boards or sturdy tree limbs for support, or;
• Manually thin the clusters.

"Plants respond to environmental conditions," McDaniel said of the abundant nut production. "That's what we're seeing."

Contrary to conditions early this year, subsoil moisture rates "good" with "conditions exceptionally good for pecans this year."

"It's a good problem to have," McDaniel added.

Northern Oklahoma's crop was lost to cold weather. Rutledge reports Texas is losing half of it's crop to scab, a problem compounded by continued wet weather.

"Hot, dry weather kills scab," Rutledge said in describing pecans as a "God-given crop. He can give it and He can take it away."

Charles Rhola, Noble Foundation Ag specialist, says scab is the most serious disease in pecans and can infect leaves and nuts. When infected, leaves drop off the tree, the size of nuts is reduced, quality is lost and proper shuck opening is prevented. Scab can be prevented with routine fungicide applications or by using the Oklahoma pecan scab model at agweather.mesonet.ou.edu/models/pecanscab/ to determine when to spray. Rhola has more information on the foundation web site, www.noble.org.

Right now, Rutledge says, this region needs dry weather. Weevils, though a threat, aren't expected to be a major problem.

Rutledge says '07 could produce Oklahoma's second biggest pecan crop in recent years, even with the loss of the northern Oklahoma production. The bumper crop can overcome weevil problem.

As a major local buyer, Rutledge sees a lower price for pecans, possibly 25 percent, since the huge production is primarily local. Nationally, production outlooks call for 330 million pounds of pecans.

"We're not there yet," sources contacted about the limb-breaking crop caution.

Some growers report nuts are full of water from the May rainfall. Savage agrees nuts need to fill out and growers still have work to do before the harvest.

This article appeared in The Daily Ardmoreite, www.ardmoreite.com, on August 26, 2007.