The focus for 2013 at the Texas A&M pecan orchard will be young tree training. When I came to Texas in 1969, pecan trees were trained entirely different from how we do it today. In the old days spacing was wide with scaffold limbs beginning only 4 to6 feet from theground. The old system was basically no system, just let the young trees grow as they may. Then came the pecan revolution with new USDA varieties, high density, drip irrigation, Roundup herbicide, frequent nitrogen fertilization, frequent foliar zincsprays, and previously unbelievable very rapid tree growth. Many growers were bringing trees into production in less than 7 years. Hal Berdoll of Bastrop, Texas produced 1,000 pounds of 'Wichita' per acre on trees which were only 5 years old. The long wait for production does not have to be — but to obtain a fast orchard, trees need very special tree training.
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