Pecan pollination chart

[Fusion_power]

Below is a link to my pecan pollination chart. This chart can easily be adjusted to your area by matching pollen shed of a reference cultivar such as Stuart. In this chart, Stuart sheds first pollen in column V. Trees shed pollen at different times just about every year depending on the weather. Do NOT take this chart to be completely accurate. I still have a lot of work to do adding and verifying data. Source information was gleaned from these sources:

LSU website: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/4447193D-D08A-47A2-B976-B992EB90B04A/46908/Pollinationchartforpecancultivars1.pdf

Alabama website: http://www.alabamapecangrowers.com/PDF/PollenChart2014.pdf

Georgia website: http://www.caes.uga.edu/content/dam/caes-website/extension-outreach/commodities/pecan-breeding/docs/cultivar-list/pollination-bar-charts.pdf

and from Wes Rice’s book Pecans Volume II (Thanks Wes!)

You will need Excel 2013 or later to use the macros. Macros must be enabled for the features to work properly. Search for “enable excel macros” to find out how to turn them on. Open the file in Excel, then spend a few minutes getting familiar with the structure.

Row 1 contains date independent start times for pistillate receptivity and pollen shed as used by Patrick Conner at UGA.

Row 2 contains dates starting with April 15th as used by the Alabama pollination chart.

Row 3 contains the count of varieties that shed pollen on that particular date.

Row 4 contains the count of varieties that have receptive pistillate flowers on that date.

Rows 5 to 220 contain variety details to the extent I have filled them in.

Here is the fun part. Find two varieties you want to compare to see if they are good pollination partners. Put an X in column A beside the two varieties. A macro will make all rows between the selections invisible so that the chosen varieties are adjacent. Highlight the rows and you can easily focus on the degree to which they match. It is important with pecan to have some varieties that are protandrous and some that are protogynous. This is because pollen must be shed at the same time pistillate flowers are receptive. Want to compare 3 or more varieties? Just put an X in column A for each variety you want to compare. When finished, click on the black cells and backspace then hit enter. The rows will be expanded again.

As an example, find a good pollination partner for Forkert. Since Forkert is type 2 (protogynous), the optimum pollinator would be a type 1. We could compare Desirable with Forkert and would find that they are not really good pollination partners. We could then compare Forkert with Tanner and guess what, we just found a decent pollination partner. This is significant because Forkert is notoriously difficult to pollinate because it blooms so late compared to other varieties.

Here is the link to the chart:

http://www.selectedplants.com/miscan/PecanPollination.xlsm

[subdood_ky_z6b]

Very nice, thanks for all the work. Last year when I was trying to find which pecan pollinated which it was hard to find a chart like this. Alas, most of my pecan bare roots didn’t make it, but it’s not to say I won’t try again.

[BambooMan]

Thanks Darrel! This will come in handy. In fact, I’m trying to figure out where to plant a few cultivars this weekend.

[Fusion_power]

I’m working on an update for the pollination chart. Meantime, here is a link to a page listing all of the pecan accessions at USDA-ARS.

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/usda_pecan/plant_search.php?plant_id=&fem_parent=&male_parent=&acc_number=&species=&patent=&orig_inst=&orig_state=&orig_county=&imp_status=&display_all=Display+All+Plants&limit=All

[Fusion_power]

I updated several items in the pollination spreadsheet adding most of the USDA varieties and making the macros more robust. Please pull a copy and replace the previous version. It is at the same link as above. Toss the old first then pull down the new.

[Fusion_power]

I added a bunch more data on varieties such as nuts per pound and percent kernel. Same link as above, toss the old first, then download the new.

[Fusion_power]

I need some information now. I’m looking to Dax and Lucky and anyone else who has quite a few pecan varieties growing. I need a list of pecan varieties you would recommend for your climate. Divide this up with the best in a group and then as many more as you think should be given consideration. Also, if you have friends who have pecans growing further north, I’d appreciate info from them as well. Please include your climate zone and approximate conditions. I would especially value info on varieties grown by commercial pecan operations.

Why? I am adding information to the pollination spreadsheet that will show varieties suggested for each region. I will make this spreadsheet a tool that anyone can use to figure out which pecans to plant. Hopefully, we will all learn something about pecan growing in the process.

Here is the information organized the way I would like it.

I am a home grower who does not spray. I live in zone 7b in an area with average annual rainfall of about 50 inches. I currently have about 100 pecan trees planted and expect to expand to about 500 trees over the next 5 years. I am borderline able to grow many southern pecans. I am also in an area with very high scab pressure.

My current suggested list of varieties for similar areas are:
Adams #5 (small nut, very scab resistant, highly recommend)
Amling (very good scab resistance, might be a bit lower production than I would like)
Avalon (will get a tree 2018)
Baby B (very precocious)
Creek (good scab resistance but tends to overbear as a mature tree)
Excel (tends to overbear but has very good scab resistance)
Gafford (outstanding scab resistance, mediocre nuts)
Headquarters (small nut excellent scab resistance)
Huffman (excellent scab resistance, very large pecan, outstanding)
Kanza (small northern adapted variety with excellent overall traits)
Lakota (Large nut with good scab resistance but overbears as a mature tree)
McMillan (medium scab resistance combined with very good production)
Miss L (will graft 2018, good scab resistance but small nuts)
Moreland (medium size pecan with decent scab resistance)
Sumner (medium size pecan with decent scab resistance)
Syrup Mill (small pointed pecan with decent scab resistance)

I have these varieties for breeding work:
Caddo (consistent high production)
Candy (small nut, good quality, decent scab resistance)
Curtis (good scab resistance but low nut quality)
Elliott (excellent scab resistance, but not very well adapted to my climate)
Forkert (outstanding nut quality)
Kiowa (large nut, decent quality, brings traits for high production)
Morrill (exceptionally high kernel percentage)
Oconee (good nut quality, protandrous)
Osage (small nut, protandrous)
Pawnee (very scab susceptible, carries recessive genes for scab resistance and northern adaptation)
Prilop (will graft 2018)
Stuart (cold tolerant, still has decent scab resistance after 140 years)
Surprize (scab susceptible, large nut, produces consistently)
Tanner (High production, high kernel percentage)
Zinner (outstanding nut quality)

[drusket]

I’m glad you are pulling together this info and I’m watching with interest though my own pecans are too young to add feedback. I was disappointed to see that you say Elliott is not well adapted to your climate since I’m in the same 7b climate near you and it is one of the three trees I planted a few years ago. What is the problem with Elliott?

[Fusion_power]

Elliott tends to break buds early which makes it susceptible to spring freezes. We had a freeze down to 22F on April 7, 2007. Elliott would have been budded out for several days. It would have lost the crop of pecans. Dormancy is also not as well expressed as in Stuart for example. This can result in winter bark damage. Elliott is not as cold susceptible as Houma. I had a Houma tree that was wiped out by an ordinary winter with a couple of cold snaps in 1999.,

Don’t give up on the Elliott tree. With climate change, it might turn out to be one of your best producers.

[Barkslip]

Hi Darrel, I’m really impressed with what you’re doing.

Hark blooms here in Mercer County IL May 15th and is shuck Split November 15th. Zone 5b. A true 5b.

I wish I could be precise but this is everything I have at the moment. This is a summary of this year and of only four cultivars.

Pollination Overlap: Hark/Kanza/Mullahy/Shepherd 2017
Hark and Kanza are perfect.
Hark will pollinate Shepherd from late pollen still remaining.
Shepherd is a good pollinator for Hark. Hark can pollinate some of the later staminites on Shepherd. About 1/3 of the pollen cycle is left on Shepherd when the flowers come out. So there’s a large overlap where it could be self pollinated.
Shepherd will pollinate Mullahy but Mullahy is unlikely to pollinate Shepherd.
Mullahy is a very good pollinator for Hark. When Hark begins male pistillates, Mullahy has it’s catkins nearly ready to shed pollen. Mullahy’s catkins are green and soon will shed.
String and Hark a good match. String just starting to shed and Hark is receptive in its staminite state.
Shepherd is an early vegetating and early pollen shed cultivar. Shepherd will have pistillate and staminite flowers occurring simutaneously.

String we need further evaluation on. Wood has been sent to Bill Reid for him to test in Kansas. I heard Bill Reid will be retiring next year so who knows what’s going to happen. So far ‘String’ (seedling selection of unknown parentage) we have hope for because further years may show us that it’s capable of filling fully here. Cracking? We don’t know of course. It is one of the largest nuts I’ve seen this far north. I would compare it more to southern pecans than northern.

Shepherd here needs more evaluation. It seems to be pollinating itself and the nuts have been smaller than they should be. We’ve only seen two years of crops thus far.

Additional notes:

Nutlets on Mullahy will be pollinated from either Hark or Shepherd. (evidenced by pollinated staminates on May 27th in this area.)

I have a Dumbell Lake Best that won’t produce another few years.

Kanza last year produced smaller nuts than those grown in northern areas. This year it was larger than last and filled very well. Kanza is likely going to be an Indian Summer pecan here. We have seen evidence of cambium injury that is not fatal but it can be seen. There’s going to be years (up to 5 or more) before we really have a good idea about Kanza this far north.

Canton produces excellent here.
Lucas the same
Iowa the same (earliest maturing nut we know of & earlier than Warren 346) 133 days to shuck split.
We have one called ‘Meat’ that’s an OC cultivar but my friend lost the tag so we don’t which one it is. Of course ‘Meat’ is not the correct name.

There are several OC’s at my friends farm. They all originated from O’Connell Island (Burlington, IA.) Literally miles from here.

Lakota we don’t now yet but it’s doubtful. We’ve seen one nut that didn’t fill. It’s winter-hardy though.

We don’t have Warren 346.

I’ll have to print your spreadsheet and take it over to my friend’s place to see what he can add.

I have photos of so many nut samples with data from a lecture where Bill Reid was the speaker, Darrel. They were all grown at his test fields. I can add them all to this thread if you’d like… which I’m sure you’d like me to do. I’ll get on that tomorrow.

Lastly, we don’t have major problems with scab here. If you take our cultivars south into northern pecan growing territory then they get scab. If we bring northern nuts up here they, those that scab there really don’t scab much here or none at all. It’s just different being this far north. Buffalo leafhoppers are problematic as are stinkbugs but we don’t spray. I’m not saying we don’t have to but our trees would definitely benefit from sprays.

Dax

[Barkslip]

![Illinois Nut Growers Association Meeting 2014 029 Carya illinoinensis ‘Kanza’ grown in far southern IL|690x513]
(upload://ksP3qQoiNoZxwWWtvz12hYOOCRR.JPG)

I didn’t remember so many being KSU trial material. Good eye candy though.

‘String’ has a similar appearance to Mandan.

Dax

[Fusion_power]

1963-16-182 is the variety patented as “Eclipse” by Andy Clough. I saw several bearing trees at Auburn. Overall a good pecan, but just a tad smaller than the market wants. It is worth reading the info Bill Goff wrote. Cultivars

I see kt201 in that list twice with the same photo.

I dug around on northernpecans and found a bit of information about some of the pecans in the photos.

KT114 - Pawnee X Greenriver
KT115
KT116 - Pawnee X Greenriver
KT121
KT123
KT129 - Pawnee X Major
KT143 - Pawnee X Major
KT149 - Pawnee X Major
KT156 - Pawnee X Greenriver
KT169 - Pawnee X Greenriver
KT178 - Kanza OP
KT201 - Pawnee X Major
KT214
KT223
KT255
KT316
KT329
KT334
KT342 - Pawnee X Greenriver
KT378 - Pawnee X Greenriver
KT703
KT753
KT823
KT881

[Fusion_power]

I updated the pollination chart with some notes. Dax, and Lucky, please take a look and see what you think so far. I only put them on the first few varieties such as Adams #5 and Avalon. I also put a note by Hark. I would appreciate comments whether the notes are useful or just in the way. Roll your cursor over the variety name to see the note.

[Barkslip]

I think the notes are very useful. A very minor correction for Hark is lightening took it out in 2017. Might as well get it correctly documented.

Dax

[Fusion_power]

I posted an updated pollination chart tonight. The changes are mostly incremental adding notes to half of the common varieties so far. I will be adding notes to the rest as I have time. I also started moving historic and/or not recommended varieties to the bottom of the sheet. I will eventually put them in a separate worksheet. The link is the same as above. Please drop a note if you see anything incorrect.

Dax, I used one of your posts earlier this year to extrapolate pollination times of Hark, Kanza, Mullahy, and Shepherd. Please take a look at them and see if I got close enough or need to change something. I used Kanza as the reference variety since its pollination time is well documented.

[Fusion_power]

I just posted another update to the pollination chart. All of the primary varieties now have notes attached. I will be filling in details of several far northern cultivars next.

[Fusion_power]

The latest update to the pecan pollination chart is now on my website. Descriptive notes are on almost all varieties in the list. I have not yet input nuts per pound and percent kernel info for all listed varieties where it is available. There are about 240 accessions in ARS-GRIN that are not in this listing and/or are listed under an alternate name. There is still a lot of work to be done to winnow down the list and highlight those varieties of most potential for various growing climates. I enlisted Wes Rice’ help with the process for northern and ultra northern varieties. Kick the tires and tell me what you think!

I added Frutoso which is the first selection worth mention from Mexico. It is from Coahuila which is adjacent to southwest Texas. Available documents suggest it has very early budbreak and is an early pollen source.

Notes found in some documents from USDA suggest trees in Jalisco may have significant long term breeding value given long duration of leaf retention and good cold resistance.

[Richard]

What self-fertile GMO Pecans are on the horizon?

[BambooMan]

I would love to see someone use CRISPR on pecan.

[Fusion_power]

Latest version of the pollination chart is now posted. There are several major changes in structure plus the data is much more complete. Direct comparison of varieties is now possible by verifying details. Same as previous, toss the old, pull down the new!