Southeastern Pecan Growers' Handbook

Book excerpt: The pecan tree and the pecan grower both have an interest in nut production. From the standpoint of the pecan tree, the development of viable seed for reproduction is the sole purpose for producing fruit. Pecan growers strive for consistent production of high quality nuts for income. These two goals often take diverging paths. Successful pecan growers must learn to manipulate the tree’s physiology in order to achieve their production goals. A functional understanding of the tree’s physiological processes is an essential starting point for successful production of consistent, high quality nuts.