Propagation of the Pecan 41 



cultivator may be employed with good results in large nurs- 

 eries while the young trees are small enough to be straddled 

 without injury. Frequent cultivations will reduce the amount 

 of hoeing necessary. However, an occasional clump of grass 

 or a weed will spring up in the row that cannot be reached 

 by the cultivators and should be removed with the hoe. 



If the soil is inclined to form a crust over the surface as it 

 becomes dry, or if the moisture is likely to become depleted 

 in the spring about the time the young trees are pushing 

 through, it is a good practice to place a mulch of some organic 

 material, two inches deep and about eighteen inches wide, over 

 the rows after the nuts are planted. The mulching material 

 should be finely broken or shredded so as to allow the young 

 trees to push through without difficulty. Wheat chaff or 

 partially decayed wheat or oat straw is suitable for this 

 purpose. Leaves or pine straw from the woods should not be 

 used, as termites — wood-lice — are almost certain to be intro- 

 duced and will destroy a considerable percentage of the trees. 

 The practice of mulching pecan nurseries is rather expensive, 

 and when large areas are to be planted, friable sandy loam 

 soil should be selected that will give satisfactory results with- 

 out mulching. 



Pecan nuts planted in the late fall or early winter will 

 germinate the following spring. These should produce plants 

 from eight to twelve inches above the ground, and send down 

 tap-roots from two to two and one-half feet below the surface 

 the first season. The more vigorous should be large enough 

 to bud in the second summer of their growth or to be grafted 

 in the winter following. It will be one year later before the 

 less thrifty plants will be large enough to propagate. 



