Geography

• The potential for pecan tree damage is influenced by location. For example, in a news release by the Samuel Roberts Nobel Foundation in January 2001, pecan tree damage in Oklahoma and Texas varied after a Christmas ice storm. Damage was worse at higher elevations and almost nonexistent if the pecan trees were nearer creek or river bottoms.
  
  Southern Oklahoma areas escaped damage while north and east locations experienced considerable limb destruction and was compared to a bomb explosion. Arkansas and northeast Texas pecan orchards also suffered tremendous damage.
  
  

Storm Damage Features

• Damage to pecan trees can include limb breakage and complete limb destruction due to heavy ice loads after a winter storm. If the number of limbs damaged is great, or the trunk has been badly damaged, it is sometimes better to remove the damaged tree and replace it with a younger one rather than allow the tree to regenerate.
  
  Older trees are even more susceptible to damage and breakage of the trunk and the limbs during an ice storm, which can make them even more vulnerable to insect and pest attacks later.
  
  

Significance

• Ice storms and wind damage are not the only means by which a pecan tree can be damaged. Pecan trees are also susceptible to attack by as many as 20 insects and mites, according to North Carolina State University. And animals can damage pecan trees, too, with deer using younger trees as a place to rub their antlers as well as a food source.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Just because a pecan tree escapes significant trunk damage and has good limb structure after a winter ice storm does not mean this tree will bear nuts that year. If a significant amount of limb breakage occurred, the pecan tree is not likely to produce pecans for several years, according to the Samuel Roberts Nobel Foundation.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• It is recommended that pecan trees should be planted in a sandy loam soil but can handle lighter or heavier soils if they are well-drained and an ample supply of water is available. Planting on higher elevations or slopes is recommended to avoid potential of frost and freeze damage. Planting pecan trees on land that is historically free of herbicide and pesticide use will ensure pecan tree growth is not adversely affected by such products. In addition, using tree traps to regularly monitor insects and pests will aid in preventing pecan tree and nut destruction.