North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>]

At 12:58 PM 10/1/2007, Richard wrote:
> For those of you
> further north (zone 7a and north) there is an outstanding combination. I
> say combination because you need two types of trees for cross pollination
> - Dichogamy group I and II. When the pollen is viable on one type tree
> the nutlets (pistilate - female flowers) are viable on the other and
> vice-versa but not at the same time. Anyway you need a tree from group
> 1(one) and another from Group 2 (two). The combination I am talking about
> (for more northern areas) is Osage released in 1989 and Kanza
> released in 1996. Osage is type 1 and Kanza is type 2
> making them highly compatible for cross pollination.
> The nut size is a little smaller than some but they will grow further
> north. They are both very good tasting pecans and shell out well. They
> are both early ripening varieties, which is good for more northern areas.
> Kanza and Osage are both scab resistant and are moderately
> resistant to most pecan diseases, making them good candidates for eastern
> areas as well.

Richard, 
Osage and Kanza are both seedlings of 'Major', which originated here in
KY, and is still recommended to comprise over 50% of any commercial pecan
plantings in this area, due to its scab resistance and heavy production
of nuts with excellent kernel quality.
http://extension-horticulture.tamu.edu/CARYA/PECANS/major.htm
I've got both Osage & Kanza grafted & growing here; looking
forward to seeing how they compare to the 'mother', and to other named
varieties which have been selected from seedlings of the Major pecan(the
Yates series - 68, 127, 145, 152, etc., Hickry's Major, etc.).

Lucky Pittman
USDA Cold Zone 6
AHS Heat Zone 7
Hopkinsville, KY