Do pecan trees require pruning?
Young pecan trees must be trained during the early phases of development. If left untrained, they will naturally produce scaffold limbs with narrow crotches. As these limbs grow to become the dominant scaffold limbs of a mature tree, they will eventually split off in wind and under heavy crop loads.
The angle of scaffold branches can be controlled, since the angle of the branch depends upon the position of the bud from which it emerges. Pecan usually have 3 or more buds at a node. The top bud is the primary bud. It is dominant and tends to grow almost straight up. This bud should be used to establish the central leader. However, scaffold limbs should develop from secondary buds during the 1st and 2nd years. These buds should only be allowed to develop after the tree is over 6 feet tall.
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Fruit production requires considerable effort, and some fruits require much more care than others -- facts specialists with the Mississippi State University Extension Service keep in mind as they provide research and information support to the industry.
MSU has ongoing blueberry research at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville and the Beaumont Horticultural Unit, and muscadine research at Beaumont and the McNeill Research Unit. MSU also has trials and research on blackberries, wine grapes, elderberries, passion fruit and strawberries.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- A statewide citrus quarantine was issued recently for Mississippi after one of the most serious citrus plant diseases in the world was detected in the state. Citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing or HLB, was confirmed earlier this year, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or USDA APHIS. There is no cure for the disease, which is caused by a bacterial infection spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, a gnat-sized insect. Infected trees die within a few years.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- A large group of agricultural producers and industry professionals met with Mississippi State University personnel during the 2025 Central Mississippi Producer Advisory Council meeting Feb. 18 in Raymond at the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center. The annual forum provides clients, MSU administrators, researchers, specialists and Extension agents an opportunity to meet in small commodity groups to discuss the research and educational needs of producers in the region.
