permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <london@metalab.unc.edu>]

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From: "ARS News Service" <isnv@ars-grin.gov>
To: "ARS News List" <ars-news@ars-grin.gov>
Subject: New Pecan Tree Bears Fruit Every Year
Date: Tue, Jul 27, 1999, 8:19 AM


STORY LEAD:
New Pecan Tree Bears Fruit Every Year

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ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Linda McGraw, (309) 681-6530, lmcgraw@asrr.arsusda.gov
July 27, 1999
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Pecan lovers will appreciate the fruits of a new pecan variety that produces
large nuts with halves that stay intact during shelling. Named "Hopi," the
new variety was developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers and
the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

Researchers with USDA's Agricultural Research Service developed Hopi from a
cross between Schley, a commercially popular variety, and McCulley, a
central Texas native variety. ARS is the chief research agency of USDA.

Hopi's performance has been extensively tested and evaluated for 45 years.
Yields from Hopi tree plantings are equal to Kanza and Creek, which were
previously developed and released by ARS and cooperating state experiment
stations. Hopi's strength is a uniform nut production from year to year,
thus overcoming a main problem in pecan production: trees that bear fruit
every other year.

Pecans are a multimillion-dollar industry. Rural landowners in the southwest
and southeast derive primary or supplemental income from growing pecan trees
in orchards or woodland pastures. In 1998, U.S. pecan production was about
155 million pounds with a value of nearly $191 million.

Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Louisiana are the top five
pecan-producing states. Annual fall nut shows are conducted in 100 of 214
Texas counties. This year, Hopi has been a consistent winner in Texas
regional and county pecan shows.

Budwood and graftwood from Hopi will be available to nurseries in February
2000. USDA does not distribute trees. Plants of this release will be
deposited in the National Plant Germplasm System where they will be
available for research purposes.

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Scientific contact: Tommy E. Thompson, ARS Crop Germplasm Research Unit,
College Station, Texas; phone (409) 272-1402, fax (409) 272-1401,
tet@tamu.edu.
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This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information
distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the
latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm.
* Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov.
* ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD
20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648.



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