Stagnating pecan yields: dig deep to find the solution

The yields of mature pecan nut orchards are failing to reach optimal levels, and concerned producers have been searching high and low to find answers, investigating everything from foliar applications to soil management. The latest indications are that the solution seems to lie in the trees’ roots. Lindi Botha reports.

- Lindi Botha

FAST FACTS

Soil compaction is leading to lower pecan nut yields.

Wheeled traffic is the main culprit.

Ridges and correct irrigation scheduling are viable solutions.

“Yields are down in the pecan industry, and we have many more questions than we have answers,” says Hardus du Toit, senior technical officer at the South African Pecan Nut Producers’ Association.

“In the Vaalharts area, where most of the industry is concentrated, we should be getting at least 2,5t/ha. Instead, we’re averaging 2t/ha, taking alternate bearing years into account.”

Exacerbating the effect of unrealised yields is the ever-increasing cost-price squeeze. The price paid for pecans has decreased over the past few years, after spiking a few prior to that. “The sums are a little tighter than they were a few years ago,” laments Du Toit. “With input costs having risen sharply, farming sustainably requires increasing our yields. Instead, we’re seeing a big compounding effect of lower yields and higher input costs that has hit the entire industry at once.”