This year’s US pecan harvest will be dramatically reduced due to substantial damage from recent hurricanes, according to plant health specialists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS).
Go deeper with GlobalData
Pecan growers in Georgia and Alabama, two of the primary pecan growing areas, were already expecting a light production year due to reduced nut set on many cultivars, according to Tim Brenneman, APS member and plant pathologist with the University of Georgia. However, production was also reduced due to the hurricanes that came late in the growing season and caused tremendous damage to pecan crops.
Georgia, which normally produces 120 million pounds of pecans annually, lost an estimated 50% of its already reduced pecan crop. Alabama, which took a direct hit from Hurricane Ivan, lost 80% of its total crop. Approximately 15-20% of all pecan trees in the state of Alabama were destroyed.
“We aren’t yet certain of the full effect the damage has had on the remaining trees,” said Brenneman. “There’s evidence that some trees may not fully recover.”
