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Louisiana:
Pecan harvest delayed by weather,
but crop should be plentiful
AgFax.Com
- Your Online Ag News Source
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By Mary Ann Van Osdell
LSU Agcenter News
Shreveport, Louisiana (November 20, 2009) –
Rain has delayed the pecan harvest across the state by two to three weeks,
but plenty of the crop should be available for the holiday season.
Observers expect this year’s pecan harvest to total
about eight million pounds, which Dr. Randy Sanderlin, coordinator of the
LSU AgCenter Pecan Research and Extension Station in Shreveport, calls an
average crop. He said north Louisiana had a large crop, but south Louisiana
numbers are still down because of the 2008 hurricanes.
Louisiana
harvested 4.4 million pounds of pecans in 2008, which was nearly 10 million
pounds below the state average of 14 million pounds, Sanderlin said. Pecans
are grown in 39 parishes.
Dr. David Boethel, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor for
research, says scientists at the pecan station have made “significant
contributions to maintaining the sustainability and profitability of a
national industry that is worth $300 million annually.”
Sanderlin said shellers predict about a $300 million
value this year.
“A lot of the pecans are still on the trees,” Sanderlin
said. “That is a good thing – they survived. But there may be a little loss
from pecans floating in water for too long.”
The quality cannot be fully determined until the pecans
go through a drying, curing and cleaning process, he said. No new insects or
diseases threatened the crop this year.
The LSU AgCenter pecan research program, in existence
since 1930, focuses on plant pathology, entomology and horticultural
projects associated with commercial pecan production.
The pecan station is now selling pecans grown there.
Several varieties are available at $1.75 to $3.75 per pound and can be
cracked for an additional 50 cents per pound.
This year’s nuts didn’t fill out as well as they
normally do because of a lack of sunshine to fill them out in October, and
prices have been adjusted accordingly, Sanderlin said.
“The kernels are about 10 percent underweight but still
have good flavor,” he said.
The station has established a 20-pound limit on the
varieties Desirable and Schley.
Sales hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through
Friday. The station is located about four miles south of the Shreveport city
limits off of Louisiana Highway 1.
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