The Origin of The Pecan in North America

The pecan has a long and rich history dating all the way back to the 1500s. Algonquin for "all nuts requiring a stone to crack" it was first harvested by the Native Americans. The pecan tree is native only to North America and grows wildly in areas like Texas and Georgia. A durable tree that produces delicious, easy to eat nuts, it's no wonder that the pecan grew in popularity with the Native Americans and eventually European settlers. But there's a long way to go from eating locally grown pecans to the commercial expansion and production of a major export. Work, knowledge, time and dedicated resources are all vital parts of growing and harvesting a successful pecan crop.

There is evidence to suggest that the Native Americans harvested and stored this nut way before the European settlers arrived. It was a great nut for barter and used by the Native Americans for trade. After the harvest, they would pack the nuts and travel across the Mississippi River to swap the pecan for other goods in states like Louisiana. In the 1800s, the French settlers of New Orleans were the first to realize that the pecan would be a great crop for export and began shipping them to the West Indies.

However, for the commercial trade and export of the pecan to expand, farmers had to figure out the best way to yield a crop of the highest quality in large numbers. A South Carolina man named Abner Landrum realized that through a process called "grafting" a superior nut and a seedling could be combined to produce a better crop. Lost to history at first, this technique was eventually rediscovered and put into practice by a Louisiana slave gardener named Antoine in the 1870s. It was the practice of grafting that led to the commercial propagation of the pecan and thus began the first major commercial pecan operation. From this point on, pecans became a staple that could be introduced into the diet of many people throughout the world.

Even today, it's stated that over 95% of the pecan crop in the world is harvested in North America. At one point in history, the pecan was a bigger cash crop than cotton. Even though pecan orchards are grown in the southern United States, because of their durability it is believed that the tree could withstand much colder temperatures. For the time being, however, the biggest commercial pecan growers are located in South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and their neighboring states.

This article was written by Al Pearson of Pearson Farm, a fifth-generation family-owned business dedicated to growing Georgia Peaches and Georgia Pecans on thousands of acres in Fort Valley GA.