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Southern IL pecan season ahead of schedule

A southern Illinois pecan grower says the season is starting off well.

Ralph Voss, who grows 200-acres of pecans in Clinton County, tells Brownfield…

“We’ve been sweating out freezes!”  He says, “So far we’re lucking out. The trees are greening out, probably in 10 days or less we will have nuts on the trees.”

Voss, who’s vice president of the Illinois Nut Growers Association, says this year’s crop is ahead of schedule.

“At least 10 days earlier than it should be right now.”  He says, “I don’t think they could tolerate 32° anymore. The leaf expansion is so much, but the trees look good.”

He says once the threat of frost has passed, insects, such as stink bugs, are the biggest challenge.

“There’s always some varmints, but you can keep varmints kind of under control.”  He says, “Probably the worst problem you can get is pecan weevil.  That can actually ruin the nut. These last years, the worst bug that I had is stink bug. They’ll actually suck on the shuck, and they’ll actually put, like, a little bit of a stain on the pecan meat.”

Voss, who utilizes a nitrogen management plan on his trees to encourage yearly nut production, says 2023 was a good year, and he’ll have a better estimate on this year’s crop within the next month. 

The Illinois Nut Growers Association spring meeting takes place Sunday in Aviston, IL.  To learn more, email [email protected].

AUDIO: Ralph Voss – Voss Pecans, Carlyle, IL

Photo: A past pecan crop at Voss Pecans.