Texas Pecan Harvest Impacted By Heat And Drought Spell

Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife

Hold onto your pies, folks.

This year was already expected to be below average for Texas pecan orchards, but experts say the weather has made the situation worse in some areas.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist Larry Stein, Ph.D., explained in a news release that pecan trees typically go through cyclical performance year to year. Last year's crop was heavy, meaning most of the trees exhausted their resources which would typically bring a lighter yield for this year. Drought and above-average summer temperatures appear to have exacerbated the situation in some places.

"The crop looks good, but it is hit and miss this year," Stein said. "If you want pecans, I would suggest finding them early to make sure you get some."

He said that pecan orchards in the Far West were showing good crop loads while trees in Central Texas were expected to provide below-average yields.

"Drought was stressful on the trees, but the producers who were able to keep up on irrigation should be fine," Stein explained. "They'll continue to irrigate to finish the crop."

Drought will likely mean smaller pecan size, but Stein said that is not necessarily a bad thing because kernels fill out easier.