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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #318344
Title: Hedging – does it affect the severity of pecan scab?

Author
item Bock, Clive
item Hotchkiss, Michael - Mike
item BRENNEMAN, TIM - University Of Georgia
item STEVENSON, KATHERINE - University Of Georgia
item GOFF, WILLIAM - Auburn University
item SMITH, MICHAEL - University Of Oklahoma
item WELLS, LENNY - University Of Georgia
item Wood, Bruce

Submitted to: Pecan Grower
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/5/2014
Publication Date: 11/1/2014
Citation: Bock, C.H., Hotchkiss, M.W., Brenneman, T.B., Stevenson, K.L., Goff, W., Smith, M.W., Wells, L., Wood, B.W. 2014. Hedging – does it affect the severity of pecan scab?. Pecan Grower. 25: 48-58.

Interpretive Summary: Trade Article

Technical Abstract: Pecan scab, caused by the plant pathogenic fungus Fusicladium effusum, is the major disease of pecan in Georgia and elsewhere in the region. There are several reasons for hedging, and some issues may arise as a result of the hedging management practice. One of those issues might be increased disease. Three orchards n GA were chosen for the study. Within each orchard, all trees received the same orchard management (fertilization, herbicide, insecticide, fungicide and irrigation programs), with the exception of the hedging treatments applied to different trees trimmed using hedging equipment to maintain or reduce the height and width of the trees. Thus control trees (either non-hedged in the previous year, or not ever previously hedged) were compared to various hedging treatments. The results showed that hedging did not increase scab. Indeed, a beneficial effect of hedging was to bring a much greater proportion of fruit within reach of efficacious fungicide coverage and thus overall improved yield and nutmeat quality in relation to scab control. More information is needed to establish these findings. Finally, these results reaffirm that scab can be extremely difficult to manage in wet years, and that scab reduces the weight of fruit the most the higher in the canopy a sample is taken, which is where fungicide coverage is less complete.