From the Farm - Georgia crop melting away

摘要

Hot and dry weather continues to grip the major growing areas of Southwest Georgia and Central Alabama. Old temperature records fell like dominoes the second week of August. Of the 138,000 or so acres of pecans in Georgia, about 45 percent are irrigated, but only about 50 percent of these irrigated acres are adequately irrigated. We are at the end of the nut-sizing period and much of the crop will be undersized this year. Nut size will vary from normal in well irrigated orchards to very small in orchards that are dryland and deficient in rainfall. Sporadic thunderstorms from mid-July to mid-August have helped only marginally and in isolated areas. Rain now will not have any appreciable effect on further increasing nut size. Expect a very erratic crop from this area as relates to nut size. Nut fill will be aided by a smaller nut, but that is assuming some rain is received between now and early October. That rain is not now in the forecast and no tropical storms are on the horizon, which is what it will take to alleviate the dry conditions in Georgia and Alabama.