| Name of spray and time of application | Insect or disease to be controlled | Spray materials, per 100 gallon | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepollination spray, when first leaves are one-third grown | Scab, downy spot, vein spot | Zineb,[A] 2 pounds | If phylloxera is a problem, see [page 14]. | |
| First cover spray, when tips of small nuts have turned brown and nut casebearer eggs are observed | Scab, downy spot, vein spot, leaf blotch, brown leaf spot | Zineb, 2 pounds | ||
| Pecan nut casebearer, pecan leaf casebearer | 3 pounds 50 percent wettable DDT, or 1 pound 25 percent wettable parathion, or 1 pint nicotine sulfate plus 2 quarts summer oil, or 5 pounds 40 percent wettable toxaphene, or 3 pounds 25 percent wettable malathion | |||
| Rosette | Zinc sulfate, 2 pounds | If rosette is a problem, include zinc sulfate in spray. | ||
| Second cover spray, 3 to 4 weeks after first cover spray | Scab, downy spot, vein spot, leaf blotch, brown leaf spot | Zineb, 2 pounds Zinc sulfate, 2 pounds | ||
| Rosette | ||||
| Third cover spray, 3 to 4 weeks after second cover spray | Scab, brown leaf spot, liver spot, aphids, mites | Zineb, 2 pounds | If aphid or mite infestations are severe, use insecticides recommended on [page 13]. | |
| Walnut caterpillar, fall webworm | If walnut caterpillars or fall webworms are a problem, use insecticides recommended on pages [15] and [16]. | |||
| Rosette | Zinc sulfate, 2 pounds | |||
| Fourth cover spray | Pecan weevil | 6 pounds 50 percent wettable DDT | For control of weevils, apply spray when as many as three weevils can be jarred from a tree. If scab is present add 2 pounds zineb to DDT spray. |
[A]Zineb. Zinc ethylene bis dithiocarbamate. Manufactured by Rohm & Haas Co., trade name Dithane Z-78: E. I. DuPont Co., trade name Parzate.
Pecan Diseases and Insects and Their Control
David W. Rosberg and D. R. King
Respectively, associate professor, Department of Plant Physiology and Pathology, and associate professor, Department of Entomology.
The pecan tree must be protected from attack by the many destructive diseases and insects that affect it to produce a bountiful nut crop.
The diseases that affect the pecan, especially those caused by fungi, are rapidly spread throughout the trees in an orchard in the early spring. During this season of frequent rains, the spores of the disease fungi germinate and invade the young tender tissues of the shoots, leaves and nuts. Under conditions of prolonged damp weather, when the humidity remains high, the disease organisms reproduce at a rapid rate and cause severe shedding of leaves and nuts.
Pecans are attacked by more than 20 species of insects that cause damage to leaves, nuts, twigs, buds, branches and even the bark. The development of commercial pecan acreages has provided ideal conditions for the increase in severity of both disease and insect damage because of the abundant food supply in a concentrated planting of pecans. In its natural habitat the pecan is less subject to the devastations of diseases and insects.
The many destructive insects and diseases must be controlled for successful pecan production. The pecan grower must also understand the nature and habits of the various disease and insect pests that threaten his crop and use certain cultural practices which help to reduce damage from diseases and insects.