PECAN NEWSLETTER
June 2003
ANNUAL BAR-B-QUE & EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
Our Annual Pecan Growers' Educational Event and BBQ will be held Monday June 30, 2003 at the Victoria County 4-H Activity Center, 259 Bachelor Dr. (just 2 blocks north of the Extension office at the Victoria Airport). This event and evening meal will be a relaxing, educational and enjoyable one as our friend, Errol John Dietze, DeWitt County pecan grower and attorney will be coming to visit with us. The program will start with registration at 6:30 and the general welcome at 7:00 p.m
Mr. Dietze, knowledgeable in many subjects, will address "Pecans, Water and the Changing Times," with Emphasis on Economical Pecan Production, Groundwater Districts and Pecan Growers' Future.
Errol John Dietze, Sr. is a fourth generation rancher, pecan producer and friend of Extension, Errol John Dietze has been a practicing attorney in Cuero since 1965. He has been very active with the pecan industry in Texas. After he bought back the pecan plantation lost by his grandparents during the Depression, he worked hard with the Pecan Growers Association both locally (director and president) as well as at the state level. He has served as director of the Texas Pecan Growers Association for a number of years, and was instrumental in getting the "Pecan Press" and "Pecan South" to Texas. He is past president of the Texas Pecan Growers Association.
He has assisted with many result demonstrations on pecans, forage, range and cattle and has held numerous clinics and field days.
In 1989 he was selected by the Texas County Agricultural Agents Association to receive the "Man of the Year in Texas Agriculture".
A barbeque dinner will be provided free to all Victoria pecan grower members (dues are due now and are only $6.00 per person), or anyone else may attend by calling our office at 361-575-4581 and paying $6.00 for the meal at the door. Everyone, please call by June 26 to reserve a meal for this event.
82nd ANNUAL TEXAS PECAN GROWERS CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW - Midland, TX There is more than one reason you will not want to miss this year's Texas Pecan Growers Conference and Trade Show, July 13-16, in Midland. The very first day of the conference, Monday, July 14, we'll board chartered buses for a trip to the 2,200-acre Belding Farms at Fort Stockton. You will have a unique opportunity to tour this premier orchard and learn how they manage many aspects of pecan production. Hedging, water management, grafting as it relates to changing varieties in an orchard, pollen collection, the cleaning plant and more will be featured on the tour. Glenn Honaker, current TPGA president, is manager of this outstanding operation.
Another important aspect of the upcoming conference is the opportunity for growers to sign up and get the necessary orientation and information from the Texas Wildlife Damage Management Service in order to implement crow control in their orchards using the DRC-1339 material recently approved for use in pecan orchards. Pecan growers will not be able to utilize this product without undergoing a training session such as the one which will be presented during the conference. This session will be featured as part of the educational program.
Orchard nutrition, including nitrogen and zinc, will be topics covered on the program. Several unique problems faced by some growers recently will also be addressed including pecan kernel opalescence and kernel rot/ mildew which occurs when the weather is extremely wet near harvest time.
Registration is $55.00 for Texas Pecan Growers Association members, $65.00 for non-members. For information call the Texas Pecan Growers Association at (979) 846-3285 or e-mail at pecans@tpga.org.
TRUCK CROP FIELD DAY
A Truck Crop Field Day will be held Friday July 11, 2003 starting at 11:00 a.m at the farm site of Mark Weinberg, local farmer. It will address a number of topics from commercial vegetable farming to planting of plants for their ornamental value. One hour of general CEU credit will be offered. Dr. Frank Dainello, Extension Vegetable Specialists from College Station along with Dr. Juan Enciso, Extension Vegetable Specialist from Weslaco, Texas will address the various crops and issues. Crops seen on the field day will be squash, ornamental corn, broomcorn, pumpkins, ornamental pumpkins, cucumbers, gourds, cabbage, peas, and others.
The field day will be located on Baass Lane. Baass Lane is 1/4 mile south of Loop 463 on the Lower Mission Valley Road.
TRAP CROPPING FOR STINK BUGS
Managing stink bugs represents a very special challenge to producers. In some years, stink bug damage can be severe while in other years it may be completely absent and this variance in infestation is very difficult to predict. When stink bug infestations and damage are high it can result in a very expensive loss and most of the time producers do not realize they have experienced this loss until the pecans are sold.
Planting trap crops can be an effective way to minimize stink bug damage. In using trap crops, generally plant in late July or early August so an attractive trap crop, (green pods and blooms) is present during September and October. However, if early maturing soybeans are planted near an orchard or the early maturing Pawnee variety needs to be protected, the trap crop planting should be moved back into June or early July.
The benefits of trap crops are: 1) reducing kernel damage by diverting adult stink bugs away from pecans, 2) reducing insecticide use because it is less expensive to treat a small planting of peas than to treat an entire orchard and, 3) if there is a problem, a trap crop allows a producer to treat for stink bugs in a trap crop later in the season than if a treatment was to be applied to the pecans.
Remember, with a trap crop planting being made during the hottest driest time of year a water source will be needed to obtain a good stand. You will also need to consider if the trap crop will need to be protected from grazing livestock or deer.
In planting a trap crop the following are a few general guidelines that should be followed:
1) Plant a trap crop that is suited for your soil type and pH. Examples include: cream, blackeye or crowder peas, soybeans, millet, grain sorghum, okra, etc. (try anything that they love to feed on).
2) Since plantings are made during July and August, a water source will be needed to help obtain a good stand.
3) Depending on orchard size and layout, plant the trap crop on the outside edge of the orchard if possible to divert or stop adult stink bugs migrating in from outside the orchard.
4) Trap crops should be attractive to stink bugs (green pods if using peas) from September up to harvest.
5) Treat trap crops with an insecticide when the trap crop is declining and no longer attractive to stink bugs.
6) To extend the attractive period of a trap crop, staggered plantings can be made. Plant part of the plot on one date and plant again in two or three weeks.
I am not advocating that every pecan orchard should have a trap crop but for those producers that are experiencing problems I feel this is a very useful management practice.
RAINS INCREASING - WATCH FOR DISEASE!
With rains increasing, we need to be watching for scab now. Scab increases when leaves stay set for 4 hours or more. Maximum spore release occurs when there are 8 - 10 consecutive days of more than 4 hours of leaf wetness within a 24 hour period. Leaves are susceptible only during their expansion/growing period. Once they are mature they are resistant to scab. Nuts are susceptible nearly until harvest. If you've had frequent rains, now is the time to protect those nutlets.
Fungicides approved include: Orbit, Enable, Abound, Super Tin, Stratego (newly labeled), Headline (newly labeled), Syllit, Sovran and Propimax.
REMEMBER!! You can find most Agricultural Extension publications online at http://tcebookstore.org
Sincerely,
Joseph D. Janak, Jr., CEA - AG/NR
Sam Womble, CEA - NR
Victoria County
JDJ:SW:vaf
cc: Fela Leal
Darrell Dromgoole
Note: Should any product(s) be listed in the above newsletter it (they) are not endorsed by the Texas Cooperative Extension and is (are) listed for your information only.
Special Notice: Provisions from the American Disability Act will be considered when planning educational programs and activities. Please notify the Victoria County Extension Office if you plan on attending any Extension Education Program and need specialized services. Notification of at least two weeks in advance is needed, so that we may have ample time to acquire resources needed to meet your needs.
Educational programs of the Texas Cooperative Extension are open to all people regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, disability, religion, age or national origins. The A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating.