Why are my pecans shriveled?

[Hippie Rancher]

Why are my pecans shriveled?

Nice big nuts, hulls just about to start opening, full size shells, but inside where the meat should be is just a thin layer of the brown peel. Not talking about that bitter "divider" part, just what should be the edible part of the nut - all that is there is brown skin and a real thin layer of white "nut" .

On the plus side at least the squirrels and ravens aren't going to get any either.

 

[ga. prime]

Which variety do you have?

 

[iowahawkeyes]

That's quite a topic headline! :shock: May want to go to a doctor about that. Oh it's about a tree...
I can't help though, no pecan trees here.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

Lack of water. In Arizona? Say it isn't so. :lol: The pecans here in Texas for the last two years ( drought )were like that.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

I have no idea what variety they are, I think they were planted in the 40's or something, been there all my life.

Probably IS the drought but it seemed like this year was a little better and we actually got the nuts (sort of). Last couple years, nothing. Also noticed all things being equal and having something resembling regular moisture that they produce on a sort of every other year cycle anyway. But these full size nuts with nothing in them are strange. They look so beautiful and they are so empty!

"Shriveled pecans" was LITTLE better than shriveled nuts. :lol:

 

[MikeC]

I read somewhere that an older, full grown Pecan tree requires 150 gallons of water per day while the nuts are developing.

The irrigated pecan orchards here leave the drip systems on 24 hours during hot dry weather and up the fertilizer added to the water.

 

[Jogeephus]

You didn't get the moisture when they were filling out. We went thru a drought this year but the rain came just as the nuts were making. Some groves made 1200 lbs an acre. Unfortunately, everyone else made nuts too so the price has fallen drastically. Last year, with more rainfall, nonirrigated groves shriveled cause we didn't get much rain in late summer. Price of nuts then was over a dollar a pound.

I agree with Mike's post about water usage. It is amazing what a tree can suck out of the ground.

 

[Lammie]

Lack of water.

 

[alabama]

Water and Zinc

 

[Scotty]

Water.