Weather and tree rhythms may mean fewer pecans this year

ALBANY - Drought, a cooler-than-expected summer and the natural rhythms of nut-bearing trees will likely lead to a smaller pecan crop this year in Georgia and across the South. <br> <br> A University of Georgia pecan specialist, Darrell Sparks, said ``Pecans like it hot. Last year was relatively cool. You have to have a lot of heat to get a return bloom.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Pecan trees usually produce a big crop one year and fewer nuts the next, while the trees revitalize. Last season was a bountiful one for Southern farmers, so a drop-off is expected. <br> <br> Georgia, which usually leads the nation in pecans, produced 95 million pounds last year, on the heels of an 80 million pound crop in 2000. The total from all states last year was 338.6 million pounds, 61 percent more than the year before. <br> <br> The pecan crop also isn&#39;t getting enough water. Much of the growing area, which runs from the Carolinas to New Mexico, is in the grip of a drought that began in 1998. <br> <br> Sparks said about half of Georgia&#39;s pecan groves are irrigated, but even those may not get enough water, which is critical for the formation of fully developed kernels. <br> <br> Seventy-two percent of the crop is rated fair to excellent, according to the Georgia Agricultural Service. Five percent is very poor and 23 percent, poor.