   Camp Verde Pecan Show - February 1, 2012 Jeff Schalau, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County The Camp Verde Pecan, Wine, and Antique Show will be held February 17-19, 2012 in downtown Camp Verde with most of the action centering near the intersection of Main and Holloman Streets. Hours for the event are Friday: 12 pm 6 pm, Saturday: 9 am 6 pm, and Sunday: 10 am 5 pm. The three day event is devoted to local pecans and the wonderful foods made from them, excellent Verde Valley wines, and one-of-a-kind antiques. Live music and delicious food will be served up with local hospitality. This event also is home to the only real pecan show in Arizona. By that I mean, the pecan varieties are judged based on size, percent kernel, kernel color, in-shell appearance, uniformity, and defects such as insect damage. Each variety is judged and placed as a blue (1st), red (2nd), or white (3rd) ribbon. Then a Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion are selected from the blue ribbon entries. Anyone growing pecans is welcome to enter. It is best to know the variety of your entry, but it is not necessary. Briefly, each entry must consist of 40 unshelled nuts from a single tree. It is best to store them in a paper bag. Entries will be accepted at the Camp Verde Chamber of Commerce, 385 S. Main St. in downtown Camp Verde through February 16. The Camp Verde Chamber of Commerce is open Monday Friday between 9 am and 4 pm. Each entry costs $1 and must be accompanied by an entry form (available at the Chamber). To learn more about selecting and preparing a pecan entry, see the January 26, 2011 Backyard Gardener Column (http://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/2011campverdepecanshow.html). Pecans are native to the river valleys of central and eastern North America and Mexico. Varieties have been selected and/or crossed by breeders to produce the many types we see today. In the remainder of this column, I will discuss some of the varieties grown here. Western (also called Western Schley) is probably the most commonly grown pecan variety in the Verde Valley and will bear nuts with less management than any other variety in the far west. The tree is strong, easy to train and productive, coming into production in 7 to 8 years. Wichita is very vigorous, productive and begins to bear in only 5 to 7 years. It tends to be a poor-bearing, unattractive tree if not well managed. This management would include pruning, proper irrigation and close attention to fertilization, especially zinc. It was the 2010 Grand Champion at the Camp Verde Pecan Show. Pawnee a new, early-ripening variety. It is a medium-size pecan with good kernel quality. Mohawk matures early - ahead of fall frosts - and has strong limb structure and beautiful foliage. It bears heavily, but like other varieties with very large nuts, the nuts can be poorly filled as the tree ages. Cheyenne is a very productive, smaller tree which begins to bear a high quality nut in only 5 to 7 years. It was the 2011 Grand Champion at the Camp Verde Pecan Show. Burkett is an old variety that is grown in the Camp Verde Area. It has almost perfectly round nuts with unique flavor. Stuart is an old variety from Mississippi which performs well in Camp Verde. Success is another old variety from Mississippi which performs well in Camp Verde. Seedlings are ungrafted trees that make good landscape trees because they often have strong, fast growth and a natural central leader without training. Nut quality is variable but at least acceptable. There are a few other varieties which have been planted in the Verde Valley, but this article covers the most common ones. I hope you can come to the Camp Verde Pecan, Wine, and Antique Festival. If so, be sure to look at the pecan show and note the winners. The Yavapai County Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer garden and landscape questions and Ill be there too. See you there! If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener help line in the Camp Verde office at 928-554-8999 Ext. 3 or e-mail us at cottonwoodmg@yahoo.com and be sure to include your name, address and phone number. Find past Backyard Gardener columns or provide feedback at the Backyard Gardener web site: http://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/.  |