JACKSON, Miss. — Sweet potato casserole, pecan pies, and other sweet southern confections may be bit more expensive to make this year because of a low pecan harvest. According to Eric Stafne, associate extension and research professor at Mississippi State University’s (MSU) Costal Research and Extension Center, this year’s pecan harvest is expected to be about 1 million pounds. Last year the state produced around 5 million pounds.
“The main reason is due to alternate bearing of pecan trees. What happens is pecan trees have a tendency to have a big year followed by smaller years,” said Stafne “This is just the normal cycle of things, and it’s especially strong in orchards that aren’t managed intensively. It’s common across the pecan belt.”
“This is based on the tree physiology. The tree expends so much energy producing the crop, it has got to build it back up before it can produce another large crop.”
Mississippi’s yearly average for pecan production ranges from about 2 to 3 million pounds. Stafne says he is not sure how much pecan prices will increase since pecans are typically bought and sold locally within the state. Depending on the harvest, the price of pecans usually fluctuate between one to three dollars.
