The Precocity of Selected Northern Pecan Cultivars

Abstract

The precocity of 10 short-season pecan cultivars was estimated by recording the number of nut clusters/tree, the number of nuts/tree, and the yield. Four years after propagation, the three indices of precocity indicated that ‘Dooley’ was the most precocious cultivar evaluated. ‘Chickasaw,’ ‘Colby,’ ‘Giles,’ ‘Hirschi,’ ‘Peruque,’ and ‘Shoshoni’ started producing nuts 5 years after propagation. Low nut production by ‘Love’ ‘Major,’ and ‘Posey’ over the 3-year study period indicates that these cultivars are not precocious. All three measurements of early nut production lead to identical ratings of cultivar precocity. If time and resources are limited in future pecan cultivar evaluations, the recording of number of nut clusters per tree alone may prove an adequate measure of precocity.