Northern growers tour Voss Pecans in Illinois

摘要

Attracting northern pecan growers from 5 states, Ralph and Karen Voss hosted a fall harvest tour of their farm near Carlyle, Ilinois. For many growers, a visit to Voss Pecans was an opportunity to see a productive pecan orchard and the machinery usedto harvest, clean and crack a pecan crop in action.The tour began with Ralph Voss welcoming members of the IllinoisNut Tree Association to their fall meeting and greeting all the growers attending the gathering from neighboring states. Bill Reid, from Kansas State University, began the morning program with a discussion of pecan scab and approaches to controlling thedisease on northern pecan orchards. He first emphasized the importance of choosing scab-resistant cultivars for inclusion in newplantings. Northern cultivars that have demonstrated scab resistance include 'Kanza', 'Major', 'Shepherd', 'Hark', 'Oswego' and 'Greenriver', he said. Among these scab-resistant cultivars, 'Kanza' has been the most popular with northern growers.