Why do my pecans not produce every year?
Alternate bearing in pecan production means that a tree bears a relatively heavy crop of nuts one year and a lighter one the next. It is characteristic of pecan trees and other hardwood forest trees. To reduce the effects of alternate bearing, choose cultivars that tend to be consistent annual bearers and then practice good orchard management. Healthy trees of any cultivar are better able to bear pecans consistently from year to year.
For a tree to grow vigorously enough in the spring to produce the leaves and flowers it needs for a good harvest, it must carry enough assimilated food reserves over the winter to support its first flush of growth. For that reason, anything that interferes with a tree's ability to produce and store nutrient elements, carbohydrates, etc., also interferes with its ability to produce nuts. Among these are the nut crop itself, the age of the tree, and the tree's health.
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Fruit production requires considerable effort, and some fruits require much more care than others -- facts specialists with the Mississippi State University Extension Service keep in mind as they provide research and information support to the industry.
MSU has ongoing blueberry research at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville and the Beaumont Horticultural Unit, and muscadine research at Beaumont and the McNeill Research Unit. MSU also has trials and research on blackberries, wine grapes, elderberries, passion fruit and strawberries.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- A statewide citrus quarantine was issued recently for Mississippi after one of the most serious citrus plant diseases in the world was detected in the state. Citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing or HLB, was confirmed earlier this year, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or USDA APHIS. There is no cure for the disease, which is caused by a bacterial infection spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, a gnat-sized insect. Infected trees die within a few years.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- A large group of agricultural producers and industry professionals met with Mississippi State University personnel during the 2025 Central Mississippi Producer Advisory Council meeting Feb. 18 in Raymond at the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center. The annual forum provides clients, MSU administrators, researchers, specialists and Extension agents an opportunity to meet in small commodity groups to discuss the research and educational needs of producers in the region.
