Pecan cultivars for Missouri's shorter growing season

By Blake Jackson

Pecan harvesting in Missouri involves shaking the trees with mechanical shakers to dislodge the nuts, which are then collected by sweeping and vacuuming machines. Hand-held tools can be used for smaller-scale harvesting.

After harvest, pecans are sorted from debris and dried to a kernel moisture of about 4%. In-shell pecans can be dried mechanically or on wire racks. For long-term storage, pecans can be frozen.

Pecans are typically grown in well-drained, fertile soils along rivers and streams or in deep upland soils. Improved pecan cultivars are often grown due to their larger kernel size. Recommended cultivars for Missouri are northern types, which are adapted to a shorter growing season and lower winter temperatures than southern types.

Pollen shed from male catkins and female flower receptivity does not coincide within the same pecan tree. Cultivars that have catkins that shed pollen before the female flower parts are receptive are classified as protandrous.

Pecan trees can reach 70 to 100 feet tall and 25 to 75 feet wide at maturity, so they are most often grown on large acreages. Pecan scab disease, pecan nut casebearer, hickory shuckworm, pecan weevil, fall webworm, and walnut caterpillar can be problematic pests.

There are several commercial pecan orchards located in Missouri, especially in Bates, Vernon, and Chariton counties.

Photo Credit: gettyimages-gueholl