The Pecan Spot: First Scab Spray
Pecans are one of the later budding trees out there, for good reason. It usually allows some protection against late freezes. Unfortunately, our last freeze event did damage some newly exposed leaves at our Clarksville location (Figure1). There was minimal damage though, and most new growth looks fine. The catkins are beginning to form and the trees are getting ready for pollination. It is important to remember one of the critical pecan scab management timings is a pre-pollination spray when leaves are about 1 inch in length. Many trees have reached this point. Managing pecan scab is essential to produce a good crop and will require additional cover sprays every 14 days. Pecan scab was terrible last year! For a listing of pecan scab products please review the MP154.
(Figure 1)