If you happen to be new to the South, this is pecan season. Pecans are a Southern crop that is used in a number of food dishes. In my personal opinion pecan pie is hard to beat. My mother made some might fine pies over the years and my mother-in-law does, too. Thank goodness my wife has learned this art from her mother.

This time of the year I receive numerous phone calls of frustration about why their pecan tree did not produce any nuts. It is impossible to come up with a single answer to this question. Here are some possible reasons: poor variety, poor soil, inadequate lime or fertilizer, too much or too little water, poor pollination, overcrowding, disease and insect pests.

Pecan varieties or cultivars vary in nut quality, production capacity, disease susceptibility and other problems. Schely is a variety that rarely produces a good crop when unsprayed. It is very susceptible to a disease called pecan scab. Pecan varieties with good to excellent scab resistance for backyard or low input planting include: Jenkins, Syrup Mill, Carter, Gafford, McMillan, Candy, Curtis, Elliott, Farley and Gloria Grande.

Poor soils and too much or too little water can adversely affect pecan production. Pecans grow best in a sandy loam soil that has well-drained subsoil. Growth and production is generally poor on heavy clays, poorly drained soil, and on deep sands. Deep sands require irrigation and extra fertilization. Lack of water, especially during dry periods of summer, frequently results in reduced yields and quality and in weakened trees that may be less productive in following years.

Inadequate fertilization and liming can decrease production. Pecans need lime, nitrogen, and zinc for production. Soils need to be sampled before planting trees to correct deficiencies and then every three years for established trees. Here are some general guidelines for fertilizing: 1 pound of 13-13-13 per tree per year of age up to maximum of 25 pounds per tree plus 1 pound of ammonium nitrate per tree per year of age up to a maximum of 20 pounds per tree plus one tenth pound of zinc sulfate per tree per year of age up to 2 pounds per tree plus 5 pounds of dolomitic lime per tree per year of age up to 100 pounds per tree. Apply all fertilizer to large trees annually in March. Young trees need to be fertilized with 13-13-13, lime and zinc in March; apply half the ammonium nitrate in April and the other half in June. Broadcast fertilizer on the soil surface twice the branch spread of the tree.

Poor pollination can result in few or no pecans.A single isolated pecan tree will not be effectively pollinated. Most varieties either shed pollen too early or too late to pollinate the female flowers of the same tree. If there are a number of seedling pecan trees or several pecan varieties growing within several hundred yards of the tree, a tree for pollination is probably unnecessary. Wet weather in April and May can wash pollen off and restrict movement of pollen by wind. Pecan trees are separated into two types based on their pollen shed and pistil receptivity. If you plan to plant a backyard or low input planting you need to plant a cultivar of each pollination type and even better yet four different varieties with half one pollination type and half the other. Three pollination type 1 cultivars are Jenkins, Syrup Mill and Gafford. Here is a list of recommended pollination type 2 cultivars: Carter, McMillan, Candy, Curtis, Elliott, Farley and Gloria Grande.

For more information contact the Cullman County Office of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System in the basement of the County Office Building or by phone at 737-9386.

Charles B. Pinkston is a county extension agent.