When Is the Best Time to Plant Pecans? A Detailed Guide to High-Yield Growing Methods
Pecan, also known as the thin-shell hickory, is one of the more common nuts in our country. Because of its high nutritional value and ornamental value, it is widely planted, and some regions of our country are currently planting it as well. So when is the best time to plant pecans? How do you plant them?
Planting time
In the north, the sowing period for pecans is April 5-10, while in the south it can be appropriately earlier. The pecan seeds used for sowing must be fully mature, and before sowing it is best to carry out cold stratification or pit burial stratification. The stratification temperature is 2°C-3°C, and the time is 60-90 days. The sowing density for raising seedlings is generally 50 cm between rows and 30 cm between plants, about 4,500 plants per mu, with a sowing depth of 5-7 cm.
High-yield growing methods
1. Land preparation and fertilization
For pecan planting, choose a plot with deep, loose soil, sufficient water, and shelter from the wind and facing the sun. A spacing of 4×5 m to 7×8 m is suitable. The planting hole should be 1-1.5 m in diameter and 1-1.2 m deep, with topsoil and subsoil placed separately. First place a layer of straw at the bottom of the pit, cover with topsoil to 20 cm, add 50 kg of organic fertilizer, 20 g of Jiadi powder, and 500 g of superphosphate, and mix them evenly with the soil.
2. Transplanting and planting
Pecan transplanting is carried out after leaf drop or before germination. Large seedlings should be moved with a mud ball, while 1-2 year old small seedlings must retain more lateral roots and fibrous roots and be promptly dipped in mud slurry to prevent root dehydration from affecting survival. During the young tree stage, especially before the first winter after planting, attention should be paid to measures such as burying soil and building soil mounds to protect young trees from cold and from shoot dieback. Especially in the cold winter regions of North China and Northwest China, whitewashing the trunk of large trees (with lime) helps prevent freezing injury to the trunk.
3. Pruning and training
Early pruning of pecans should be light, appropriately leaving more main branches so they bear fruit early. When pruning, the inner canopy of the tree crown should be kept ventilated and exposed to light. In the early stage, the branches and shoots in the upper part of the crown should be retained as much as possible, while the lower part of the crown can be gradually thinned. When necessary, overly dense large branches can be sawed off, and the saw cuts must be smoothed flat and coated with a protective agent to prevent rot. After entering the aging stage, all parts above where renewal shoots emerge on the crown can be sawed off to cultivate the already sprouted renewal shoots, and all dead parts of the main branches of the aging crown should be cut off. When carrying out truncation and renewal, it is best to combine this with deep plowing and fertilization.
4. Cultivation and weeding
Within 1-3 years of establishing a pecan orchard, crops such as soybean, corn, and Atractylodes macrocephala can be intercropped. During intercropping, the orchard should be cultivated and weeded, and an appropriate amount of organic fertilizers such as burnt mud ash, cake fertilizer, and barnyard manure should be applied. In addition, once or twice each year between July and August, weeds, shrubs, thorns, and vines in the woodland should be cut down, and the cut weeds should be used to cover the woodland. In winter, the mulch should be plowed into the soil to increase soil fertility.
5. Fertilization to protect fruit
Each spring before germination, pecans should be given about 30 kg of urea per mu, 80 kg of special fruit tree fertilizer during the fruit enlargement period, and 3,000 kg of base fertilizer in autumn. After entering the fruiting stage, increase fertilizer application according to the fruiting situation. Foliar fertilizer can be sprayed once about every 15 days together with pesticide spraying: spray 0.3% urea in the early and late growth stages, and spray 0.3% monopotassium phosphate in June-July. In winter, water thoroughly for overwintering and for bud break. In the rainy season, drain promptly to prevent waterlogging. Fruiting trees are fertilized twice each year: in February, open radial trenches along the tree disk and apply 20 kg of corn stalks and 5 kg of manure per tree; in July, fertilization is mainly with ternary compound fertilizer, applied at 0.2 kg per square meter.
6. Pest and disease control
The main pests and diseases of pecans include hickory branch blight, star longhorn beetle, Parasa lepida, and coffee wood borer, among others. Focus on doing a good job of pest and disease control in winter orchards, and during the growing season carry out timely control according to the occurrence of pests and diseases. At the same time, strengthen tree vigor, prevent branch damage, and spray agents such as carbendazim or chlorothalonil during the disease period.