During early August it was my pleasure to spend a day in the Hickman bottoms with County Agent Watts and Mr. Ernest Fields, manager of the local nut cracking factory, together with Mr. C. B. Toombs, of Hickman, at which time we inspected a number of recognized successful native pecan groves. Mr. Toombs knows that whole area and is familiar with the pecan trees of outstanding quality and yield history, just as you and I knew where every tree stood in the old home apple orchard or that of grandfather, where as boys we made frequent trips to get a pocketful of those outstanding local variety apples.
Mr. Toombs pointed out to me a tree on his own farm that he said bears a crop every year of from 300 to 400 pounds of nuts. In his own language he described the tree in detail but the thing which impressed me was the fact that he had developed standing orders for private sales to individuals from the crops of this one tree each year because they are of outstanding value. He showed us another tree on a neighbor's farm, one which produced 700 pounds of nuts one year; another tree on which the nuts were ready to harvest a month ahead of the nuts from other pecan trees in that region. (Mr. Wilkinson, it strikes me that propagation from this early maturing tree might well find a place several miles north of the Mason-Dixon Line where normal fall frosts often injure the crops.)
We are of the opinion that with organized effort we can locate these outstanding individual trees, get enough scion wood from them and put it in the hands of a good pecan grower, and in a few years develop sufficient grafting wood so that we can top-work thousands of these young native trees in the district, thereby increasing not only the number of pounds produced per tree, but have a volume of production of the very best quality of nuts. They tell me that one of the trees I observed has a cracking percentage of above 60 as compared to many of the native seedlings which have a cracking percentage of only 20-30 of nut kernels.
+First Annual Nut Show in 1948+
In an effort to locate these outstanding seedling trees in an organized way, our Kentucky Extension Service, cooperating with the Fulton County Farm Bureau, local civic organizations, the local nut cracking plant, and the Northern Nut Growers Association, through its secretary, Mr. J. C. McDaniel, has made plans for a nut show to be held at the county court house in Hickman, Kentucky, in early December of 1948. The feature of the show with be the cash prizes offered for the best seedling pecans. We request that the owners give us a history of the trees, the age, regularity in bearing, etc., with the nut show management reserving the right to cut a few sticks of grafting wood from the winning trees. Prizes will also be offered for hickory and walnut seedling trees. An educational program is also planned in connection with the day's show, and it will include a visit to the farm of the late Roscoe Stone, where a top-working program was started last spring, as well as a visit to the local nut cracking firm. This nut show is set up to become an annual affair, and we feel that the sky is the limit for the good that can come out of such an organized program as it affects the pecan industry in that area.
There are thousands of acres of excellent pecan land in this southwestern Kentucky area, that can be profitably developed into pecan groves. The land is deep, very fertile, and is already well supplied with moisture. We cannot question its being a natural home for pecan production, for nature proved this point to the public two generations ago.
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PRESIDENT DAVIDSON: Pecan Culture in South Carolina by Mr. A. M. Musser, Head of the Department of Horticulture at Clemson Agricultural College is next. Mr. Senn will read the paper because Mr. Musser is not able to be here.
Pecan Production in South Carolina
T. L. SENN, Assistant Professor of Horticulture, Clemson, South Carolina