Pecan phenology in Southeastern China

Pecan (Carya illinoensis) is heterodicogamous, which often leads to unstable yield of its nut crops. Relating pecan orchard management to the phenological stage of the trees is the key to increasing yields; however, describing morphology alone does not lead to an orchard management system that is simple and practical. In this work, we extend the BBCH (Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und Chemische Industrie) coding method to describe the morphology of the protogynous Mahan pecan cultivar over two consecutive years in southern China. Eight main growth stages, from vegetative bud dormancy to fruit harvest, were described and each phenological period was photographed. Pecan orchard management activities were listed for each stage in pecan BBCH scale to allow orchard managers to better manage their trees. This codification will facilitate breeding, conservation of genetic resources and general orchard management of this commercial crop. As well, recording the dates of various morphological stages over time will allow the influence of global climate change on pecan development to be tracked.