Commercial Fruit and Nuts
Pecans
Mississippi contains between 14,000 and 16,000 acres of pecan orchards and thousands of yard trees. Orchards range in size from 25 to 500 acres. The average state production is 6.5 million pounds. Commercial orchards planted on good sites utilizing disease resistant varieties and under good management systems can average 750 lb. of pecans per acre. The average state-wide production, including the small home orchards under very little management, is more likely to be less than 250 lb. per acre. Pecans are sold directly to consumers, accumulators, or marketed by mail-order. Intense management, irrigation, proper insect and disease control, timely harvest, and proper marketing are all necessary to make pecan production profitable. During the past 5 years, pecans have been valued from $.50 to $2.00 per pound depending on regional production.Presently, the major commercial varieties being recommended are: Owens, Kiowa, Forkert, Cape Fear, and Choctaw in north Mississippi, and Kiowa, Cape Fear, Melrose, and Sumner in south Mississippi.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What can I do to improve the quality of my pecans?
- What varieties should I plant?
- Can I make money growing pecans in Mississippi?
- How quickly will they come into production?
- Is my soil good enough for pecans?
- How can I kill the weeds around my pecan tree?
- How frequently and how much should I irrigate?
- Why do my pecans not produce every year?
- How far apart should I plant my pecan trees?
- Do pecan trees require pruning?
- What method should be used to graft pecans?
Small Fruit
Small fruit are grown throughout Mississippi. Currently, there are 1,600 acres of blueberries, 400 acres of muscadines, 100 acres of strawberries and scattered acres of blackberries and other small fruits.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What varieties of blueberries should be grown in Mississippi?
- What varieties of muscadines should be grown in Mississippi?
Tree Fruit in Mississippi
Mississippi has approximately 1000 acres of peaches and 250 acres of apples. Orchards range in size from 5-50 acres. Because of unusually late freezes, only 10 to 15 percent of the peach acreage produced fruit in recent years. Primarily due to irregular markets, wholesale prices have declined 15-20 percent. Because there was no crop, routine maintenance has been curtailed allowing insect and disease pressure to increase. Peaches and apples are primarily sold in fresh markets. Intense management, irrigation, proper insect and disease control, timely harvest, and proper marketing are all necessary to make fruit production profitable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Publications
News
A late freeze, high summertime temperatures and a devastating drought mean a poor pecan crop for Mississippi in 2023.
Eric Stafne, fruit and nut specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said weather stacked the odds against a good crop this year.
POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi blueberry producers expect to see substantial yield losses in the state’s largest commercial fruit crop after the hard freeze that hit the state on the weekend of March 18. Eric Stafne, fruit and nut specialist with the MSU Extension Service, said growers will see significant losses. The condition of the crop is poor based on what commercial growers are reporting to him and his observation of damage to blueberry plants at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville, where he is based.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Producers in Mississippi can provide feedback and input on the agricultural research and educational programs offered by Mississippi State University during the upcoming producer advisory council meetings. Hosted by MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station personnel, the Producer Advisory Council meetings will be held in February. These meetings allow producers to learn about current research and educational opportunities, as well as to communicate their needs in these areas.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will host two free educational workshops for blueberry growers in January -- one in person and another online.
The in-person workshop will be held Jan. 24 at the MSU Extension Forrest County office at 952 Sullivan Drive in Hattiesburg from 1-4 p.m. The virtual workshop will be Jan. 26 from 2-4 p.m.
Mississippi pecan producers faced a particularly challenging year with drought and then rain at the wrong time, but irrigated orchards are making a good crop.
Eric Stafne, fruit and nut crop specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the dry summer did one very good thing: It helped control pecan scab, a disease that is often a problem for the state’s pecan trees.
