News
June 2024 Orchard Update
Pecan Harvesting: From Shuck to Table
The Good Guys
Our orchard really bugs me, thousands of them do.
What I mean is thousands of insect species call our orchard home. And that’s a good thing, really. It indicates a healthy ecosystem. Most of them do no harm to the pecan trees but a few do and it’s my job to monitor the population of those damaging pests. They will almost certainly be present in the orchard at some level, but their numbers are almost certainly held in check by the Good Guys.
And who are these Good Guys?
Let me introduce you...
The next Good Guy to begin populating the orchard are the lacewings. I’m seeing more and more of these single eggs elevated on a silken stalk waiting to hatch (photo 5). Once they do these adults will feed on aphids and other soft-bodies prey (photo 6).
The fly lived to see another day, but it brings up a pretty good point. These predators don’t discriminate. They are equal opportunity killers. Spiders will feed on ladybugs and lacewings in addition to flies and aphids. Lady bug nymphs will feed on ladybug eggs as well as aphids and harmful moth larvae. Good guys, bad guys, neutral guys. It’s one big web of predatory life going on in the tiny world of bugs. Eat and be eaten…. It’s tough being an insect in our orchard. But that doesn’t bug me at all.
- Andy Sherrod
Orchard Manager
“So, what do you do the rest of the year?”
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In the Pecan Orchard - May 2022
What’s Happening on the Pecan Farm
- Pest Control
- Irrigating
- Monitoring the trees
Natural Pest Control
Starting in April, we noticed an increasing population of ladybugs in the pecan orchard. As a result, there are virtually no aphids. If you have your own garden or orchard, it would be good to familiarize yourself with ladybug larvae and other beneficial insects. If you see any of these, don’t panic.
Since ladybugs eat aphids and other soft-bodied insects, they can be a natural form of pest control. Some people even buy ladybugs and release them in their environment at home as a way to naturally control aphids.
Lacewings can also be helpful. A lacewing is a green bug with clear wings. A characteristic you might look for is the lacewing eggs: a stalk with a glob on the end. We expect a huge influx of lacewings in our orchard soon.
Why Are Aphids a Problem?
Aphids puncture the leaf tissue and suck out the sap. Not only are they depriving the tree of moisture and all the nutrients that flow with it, they’re also creating a sticky substance on the leaves, called honeydew, which allows sooty mold. That’s bad. Aphids don’t just target pecan leaves, so keep an eye on your other plants, too.
Irrigation & Watering
Our irrigation system is a complex network of buried pipes and lines designed to deliver water and nutrients where the trees need it most. Drip tubing is buried fifteen inches deep placing the water exactly where the trees need it: the root zone. Buried drip is useful because we end up using less water, and there is no unnecessary waste through percolation or evaporation.
In addition to our irrigation, rainfall is still so important to nurturing pecan trees and producing quality pecans. A mature pecan tree, in the peak of summer, uses 150 to 200 gallons of water each day. One inch of rain falling on one acre of land is equivalent to 27,154 gallons. That means one inch of rain will provide a one-week supply of water to a mature pecan tree in the heat of the summer.
Monitoring the Trees
During this time, it's essential we continue to monitor the trees. We're checking to make sure the beneficial insects are able to maintain a checks and balances on the harmful pests, making sure the trees get enough water to mitigate the stress of the Texas summer, and the orchard has everything it needs to continue its growing season. Soon we'll see nutlet form where the pecan flowers used to be, and we'll begin monitoring their growth, too. Check back next month for another update, or join us for the last tour of the summer. Book tickets here.
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Orchard Update - April/May
The orchard has been in the "Budbreak" phase since about mid-March. During this time, the buds swell and break out of their protective covering, and a short time after tiny leaves begin to unfurl. If you've been following us on Instagram, you've seen the bright green leaves begin to dot the trees and our orchard team spraying nutrients onto the new leaves.
Between budbreak and pollination, catkins (pollen-producing flowers growing on stalks) begin to appear, harbingers of a bountiful crop. If no catkins are seen it is very likely the nut crop will be light. You can see many of our trees are loaded with catkins. Any day now, the catkins will burst open and release pollen into the orchard. 
Right now, the orchard floor is thick with ryegrass and wild flowers, and the trees have burst out with new pale green leaves and lots of FLOWERS.
“Flowers?” You may ask. “On a PECAN tree?”
Many people don’t realize that pecan trees flower, but they do. In fact, pecan trees produce two types of flowers. The pollen-producing male flowers that grow in long tight clusters called catkins develop first. The female flowers, or nut-producing flowers, emerge a few days later.
In pecans, both types of flowers are found on the same tree, unlike cottonwood and mulberry which have separate male and female trees. (When you buy a fruitless mulberry or a cottonless cottonwood at the garden center, you are actually buying a male tree.)
But even though both types of flowers are found on the same pecan tree, most varieties are not very efficient at self-pollination. Every variety is classified into one of two categories. Protandrous varieties are those which shed their pollen before the nut-producing flower on the same tree is receptive. Protogynous varieties are just the opposite. The nut-producing flowers are receptive before the pollen on that same tree is shed.
As a result, we at Royalty Pecan Farm have planted both types of varieties in close proximity to each other to ensure adequate pollination. We'll have more orchard updates, including how pecan trees are pollinated over the next week or so as things progress in the orchard. Spoiler: pecan trees are not pollinated by bees. 
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