Commercial Fruit and Nuts
Pecans
Mississippi contains between 14,000 and 16,000 acres of pecan orchards and thousands of yard trees. Orchards range in size from 25 to 500 acres. The average state production is 6.5 million pounds. Commercial orchards planted on good sites utilizing disease resistant varieties and under good management systems can average 750 lb. of pecans per acre. The average state-wide production, including the small home orchards under very little management, is more likely to be less than 250 lb. per acre. Pecans are sold directly to consumers, accumulators, or marketed by mail-order. Intense management, irrigation, proper insect and disease control, timely harvest, and proper marketing are all necessary to make pecan production profitable. During the past 5 years, pecans have been valued from $.50 to $2.00 per pound depending on regional production.Presently, the major commercial varieties being recommended are: Owens, Kiowa, Forkert, Cape Fear, and Choctaw in north Mississippi, and Kiowa, Cape Fear, Melrose, and Sumner in south Mississippi.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What can I do to improve the quality of my pecans?
- What varieties should I plant?
- Can I make money growing pecans in Mississippi?
- How quickly will they come into production?
- Is my soil good enough for pecans?
- How can I kill the weeds around my pecan tree?
- How frequently and how much should I irrigate?
- Why do my pecans not produce every year?
- How far apart should I plant my pecan trees?
- Do pecan trees require pruning?
- What method should be used to graft pecans?
Small Fruit
Small fruit are grown throughout Mississippi. Currently, there are 1,600 acres of blueberries, 400 acres of muscadines, 100 acres of strawberries and scattered acres of blackberries and other small fruits.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What varieties of blueberries should be grown in Mississippi?
- What varieties of muscadines should be grown in Mississippi?
Tree Fruit in Mississippi
Mississippi has approximately 1000 acres of peaches and 250 acres of apples. Orchards range in size from 5-50 acres. Because of unusually late freezes, only 10 to 15 percent of the peach acreage produced fruit in recent years. Primarily due to irregular markets, wholesale prices have declined 15-20 percent. Because there was no crop, routine maintenance has been curtailed allowing insect and disease pressure to increase. Peaches and apples are primarily sold in fresh markets. Intense management, irrigation, proper insect and disease control, timely harvest, and proper marketing are all necessary to make fruit production profitable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Publications
News
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Produce growers, packers, industry suppliers and others can learn the requirements of the new federal Produce Safety Rule during one of three upcoming workshops around the state.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A group interested in learning more about the ancient and popular art of winemaking will attend an upcoming workshop on the topic Sept. 15 at Mississippi State University.
The Growing, Making and Improving Wines Workshop will be at the A.B. McKay Food Research and Enology Laboratory on the MSU campus. The MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are offering the daylong workshop.
MCNEILL, Miss. -- Mississippi State University invites muscadine grape growers and those interested in growing these vines to an Aug. 26 field day in Pearl River County.
Topics for the annual Muscadine Field Day include pests, new varieties and vine management. MSU Extension Service, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, and U.S. Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service personnel will speak.
VICKSBURG, Miss. -- Foods grown on Southern farms should end up on Southern tables, especially when those tables are in the state’s many historic bed-and-breakfasts.
That was the message Mississippi State University Extension Service personnel sent home with participants in a recent workshop.
“Nobody wants to go to a Southern B&B and not experience the food, so think about serving local foods,” said Brent Fountain, Extension nutrition specialist.
WAYNESBORO, Miss. -- The demand for fresh Mississippi blueberries may grow this year after a mid-March freeze hampered production in neighboring states.
Freezing temperatures during the crop's early growth stage on farms east of the state, especially in Georgia and North Carolina, caused production losses of up to 50 percent.
Meanwhile, 85 percent of Mississippi's blueberry crop was either in good or excellent condition as of May 15, according to a weekly crop progress and condition report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
