Pecan production in the US

Blog 7 - Cropping Systems, Tillage and Crop Establishment Monocropping or polyculture? The pecan tree usually takes more than 10 years to grow. (Stark Bro's , n.d.) . Therefore it might be handy to set up a lay-out and plan for the farm site. The term agroforestry was first used in 1977 to describe the integration of trees and agriculture. But the integration of trees and agriculture is as old as the days of the Neolithic revolution when forestry and agriculture were combined to eventually be integrated into settled systems. (Smith, 2010) . Different options in agroforestry are listed underneath: - Multipurpose windbreaks enable you to protect crops from wind and develop a different ecosystem. In return you can place e.g. black walnut trees as these windbreaks which will give both walnuts, hazelnuts, shrubs or Christmas trees. (University of Minnesota, n.d.) -  Forest farming or a plantation is only of use when one is working with a natural forest. The retur...

Blog 6 - Soils What are the most common soil types the region in the USA where pecans are cultivated? We will discuss the soils of the states Georgia and Texas.  Georgia Figure 1 the soils in Georgia.  (University of Georgia: College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, 2017) . -           Limestone valley The area in the Limestone valley alternates between hard and soft rock. The ridges are formed out of hard rock, but the valleys consist of softer limestone, shale and other material. (Coleman, n.d.) -           Blue Ridge There is a rich ecosystem with a diversity of plants and animals. The soil is loamy. It consists of clay, silt and sand. It looks brown and it is acidic. (Coleman, n.d.) . -           Southern Piedmont The soil in Piedmont consists mostly out of granite and clays. It is famous for its red c...

Blog 5 - Environment and Agroecosystems Pecan production sites Most of the pecan production takes place in the Southern States of North America. The rating in 2014 was as listed underneath. 1.        Georgia                                76 million pounds 2.        New Mexico                        67 million pounds 3.        Texas                                    61 million pounds 4.        Arizona                                21 million pounds (Marzolo, 2015) . While the...

Blog 4 - Im proving Plants Is the pecan self-pollinating or cross-pollinating? The pecan tree has both female and male organs, but they are not located together, which is called monecious flowering. (Smith, n.d.) . The catkins (male flowers) and the pistil (female flower) receptiveness occur at different times. This is why the pecan tree requires cross-cultivation of a compatible cultivar. This is not entirely true, however. The exact times of the fertility of both organs is depended per pecan cultivar. While the Burkett cultivar is unable to self-pollinate, the Western cultivar does have the ability to do so. (Smith, n.d.) . Studies do show that cross-pollination has a positive effect on the size and ripening of the pecan nuts. (Byford, 2005) . Logically, if a crop has only one reproductive organ it is not able to self-pollinate. And if it does, looking at the time-span of the receptiveness of each organ helps identifying its ability to self-pollinate or not. Mostly, plants t...

Blog 3 - Physiology and Growth Is the pecan a C3 or a C4 plant? The pecan is a C3 plant. A C4 plant has the special ability to close its stomata throughout most of the day. This way the plant will not run out of water very quickly when it is warm and water easily evaporates. Therefore, the C4 characteristic are needed for plants growing in arid regions. (Difference between C3. C4 and CAM plants, n.d.) . As we mentioned in blog 1, the pecan is native to South-North America. Therefore, the climate is warm, but not arid. Is the pecan an annual, biennial or a perennial? The pecan tree is a perennial for its lifespan is longer than three years.  (Andersen, 2017) . Is the pecan able to fix atmospheric nitrogen? Legumes have nitrification abilities. It is able to take up the nitrogen out of the air (N2) and fix it into ammonia (CH4). The ammonia is later nitrified and turned into nitrates (NO3-), which the plants can take up as nutrient. The nitrogen fixation is done at the r...

Blog 2 - Pecan Tree Anatomy and Morphology When wanting to know a plants anatomy and morphology one often starts with a simple distinction between a monocot and a dicot plant. Morphology is the study of the form and structure of plants, while anatomy covers the arrangement of cells, tissues, organs and other structures. Thus, knowing the differences between the two types will give one insight how a plant grows and what it will need to be able to develop. You can distinguish the two types by going over a simple checklist. Figure 1 Detailed picture of a monocot and dicot (Flowering plants monocotyledon and dicotyledon science lesson in English, 2017) Pecan: monocot or dicot? We will do a test in order to classify the pecan tree. Looking at the leaves of the pecan tree we can see that the leaf veins are not parallel, which classifies the pecan as a dicot plant. (Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch, 2017) . Figure 2 Pecan leaves  (Pecan Tree Leaves, 20...