Pecan Harvest Falls Short

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Although this year's pecan prices are better than last year's, growers are looking at a smaller corp. New Mexico State University's Anna María Pérez-Wright has the story.

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New Mexico's multimillion dollar pecan harvest is expected to be about half as large as last year's record crop. But the drop in production isn't caused by any pest or disease. Doña Ana County horticulture agent John White with New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service says it's just natural for trees to take a breather after a jumbo harvest.

"We're looking at an off year. So our production is going to be a little bit less this year because we're coming off a record year. If you have a heavy year one year, usually it comes back with a light year. It's called biennial bearing."

Southern New Mexico pecan growers are on the cusp of harvest now. In Doña Ana County the heavy, green shucks of the popular Western Schley variety are starting to split and pecans are starting to fall.

"If you look at the El Paso-Doña Ana corridor right through here, it's really one of the largest, most intensely managed pecan crops in the world."

White says that overall pecan prices this year are better than last year's. The state's pecan crop was valued at more than 38 million dollars in 2001, compared to 48 million dollars in 2000. Nationally, New Mexico ranks third in pecan production, behind Texas and Georgia. For N-M-S-U's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, I'm Anna María Pérez-Wright.