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Published on 02/12/04

Pecan tree elevator? Think it through -- carefully

By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia

I was about 8 years old and my sister Mary Lynn about 6 when we thought up a way to get up into a big pecan tree at our house. We just didn't think things through completely.

We figured if we tied a big well pulley, with a long rope running through it, high up into the pecan tree, we could make us a really neat elevator.

Once we secured the pulley to a limb, we ran the rope through the pulley and back down to the ground. Since I was just a little bit heavier than Mary Lynn, the plan was for me to climb back up into the tree where the pulley was tied, hold onto that end of the rope and jump out of the tree.

Far below me was Mary Lynn, standing on the ground and holding the other end of the rope. On a count of three, I jumped.

Our plan for Mary Lynn's ascent up the tree worked just as we had planned -- until she got about halfway up and I got about halfway down.

But we never, ever, thought about a midair collision.

Oh, yeah -- gravity

Well of course, when I clobbered her on the top of her head with my feet, she turned her end of the rope loose, which left me with nothing but a loose rope in my hands. That's when the law of gravity became really apparent to both of us.

She hit the ground first. Her fall was bad enough. But I clobbered her again right before I hit the ground.

That old pecan tree is still there, although it was "topped" about 20 years ago by someone who was supposed to know how to correctly prune a tree.

Well, he didn't. All the sprouts and wind damage resulting from the topping have made the tree all but worthless.

Better planning

If I ever replace the tree, I'll do it with a tree that's disease-resistant. Scab is a very common disease on pecans. Since I don't have the right equipment to spray trees to protect them from scab, I'll choose a variety that's resistant to it.

Five varieties of pecan trees are recommended for home yards in Georgia, mainly because they're resistant to scab: "Stuart," "Elliott," "Curtis," "Gloria Grande" and "Sumner."

To ensure good pollination, I'll need at least two varieties. There are five other pecan trees at my old home place, so pollination shouldn't be a problem. But if those other trees weren't there, I'd need to plant two varieties. And I might just plant two anyway.

But I'm not ready to replace the old pecan tree just yet. It may not be worth much in terms of pecans, but I have a good memory associated with it.

(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Mike Isbell is the Heard County extension coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Mike Isbell
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