The Pecan Project started as a trial in the fall of 2023, sponsored by the Fort Bend County AgriLife’s Horticulture Extension Agent, Boone Holladay. The trial’s sponsorship continues with Jody Taylor, current Fort Bend County AgriLife Horticulture Extension Agent, and is stewarded by the Fort Bend Master Gardeners (FBMG) Tree Team. Initially, the goal of the trial was to grow hardy root stock for potential future grafting. Now, the trees grown will not only be used for grafting but will also be offered for sale to the public as the FBMG’s spring fruit tree sale. Go to https://fbmg.org/fruit-tree-sale/ for more information on the spring sale.

Each fall, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Fort Bend County hosts the Fort Bend County Pecan Show. The show was scheduled to be held this year on September 1 at 1436 Band Road in Rosenberg, after the Katy Times went to press for this article.

Pecans are submitted by the public and are rated based on percentage of edible kernel, kernel color and nut size. The pecans picked for the trial came from a tree that produced one of the winners.

However, the winning tree selected for the trial was not picked for its pecan’s taste, looks or size. It was selected for the hardiness of the tree. The winning pecan tree reportedly came from a property along the Brazos River, surviving the extreme weather conditions this area had to offer – drought, freeze, wind and flood – just right for the trial.

Fort Bend Master Gardeners will share the propagation procedure used to grow pecan seedlings for the trial in a future article.