Hardiness Zone: 7b
Judy from Leighton, AL
If you've had a couple of wet summers, it could be that your tree is suffering from some type of fungal disease like scab. Symptoms include dark spots on the undersides of leaves and the outer covering of the nuts. The leaves of a tree infected with scab turn yellow and the nuts fall prematurely. If that's the case, controlling it will depend on Mother Nature and waiting for a dry year.
Small dark spots can also be caused by stink bugs.
Do the pecans that have fallen to the ground contain small, grub-like worms? These could be pecan weevil larvae. The adult weevils are dark gray or brown beetle-like insects with long snouts. They lay their eggs on developing nuts, which then hatch and bore into the pecans leaving a small hole in the shell.
Another white worm found less frequently in the nuts is the hickory shuckworm. Infestations are characterized by olive green or reddish gray caterpillars that feed on buds and leaves and tunnel into young shoots to pupate. Adult moths emerge in May and lay their eggs on the nuts, which then hatch and bore into the shells.
A lack of nut production could point to pollination problems, too much water or not enough fertilizer.
You could be looking at one or a combination of problems. Hopefully some of this information will help you diagnose the problems and narrow down your search for solutions.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have native pecan trees and have lost all my pecan. The pecans that have fell off look like they have a white mold on them and they are soft. We have had an above amount of rain this summer. All 3 of my trees lost there pecans but my next door neighbor is fine. The leaves on the tree look great. I don't want this to happen next year. Help
Try going on the A&M website. I think it is tamu.edu. They have a whole section on pecan trees and diseases.
Do pecans in shells get rotten?
