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INAUGURAL DEANE STAHMANN SCHOLARSHIP OPEN

The Deane Stahmann scholarship was established in 2008 to provide Australian pecan growers ....

Pecan Origins

The Pecan (Carya Illinoensis) is native to North America from the Mississippi River Valley to West Texas and into Mexico. Wild Pecan trees are still to be found in the U.S.A. and Mexico, mainly growing along rivers in fertile valleys. These 'natives' can grow over 100 feet (30 metres) in height and spread.

Historically, Pecans were an important source of winter food to many indigenous American tribes over thousands of years, and many varieties bear the names of tribes such as Sioux and Pawnee.

Spanish explorers observed American Indians eating Pecans during the winter of 1533. They wrote that tribes travelled great distances to spend the winter months in Pecan localities and that the nuts were a major source of food. Cabeza De Vaca, a Spanish nobleman on an expedition to the Gulf of Mexico, was shipwrecked in 1529 and he and three companions - the only survivors - lived with Indians until 1535. De Vaca, on returning to Spain, wrote of his experiences in 1541. He recorded that Pecans were 'The subsistence of the people for two months without any other thing'; he also observed that the Indians were healthy and athletic.

In 1729 French settlers on the Mississippi River learnt from the Indians to crush Pecan kernels and use them for seasoning various dishes, to thicken venison broth and bake in corn cakes.

As Europeans settled in America the use of Pecans grew rapidly and plantings increased. George Washington was known to enjoy eating Pecans and his diary of 1794 recalls his planting several Pecan Trees. Native Pecan trees simply grow from nuts falling to the ground from existing trees. Indians and American settlers also took Pecan nuts to new areas and planted them; those trees are known as 'seedlings' and differ in size and shape from natives. Seedling Pecan trees do not produce nuts every year. Most nuts from seedlings are small but good to eat.

In 1846 an African slave named Antoine successfully grafted 110 Pecan trees while working on a cotton plantation in southern Louisiana. These trees grew evenly and produced regular crops each year, later becoming known as the Centennial variety. A plantation called Oak Alley became the first commercial orchard to produce Pecans for sale, and some of its original Centennial trees still produce quality Pecans today. Horticulturists recognised the advantage of growing grafted trees and set about increasing the range of varieties. Nuts were selected from trees known to be strong and vigorous, and these were planted to produce rootstock. Grafts were selected from trees producing quality nuts and placed on to the rootstock. Today there are approximately 160 varieties of Pecans available in the USA.

Important as the Pecan was in the diet of the ancient American Indians, space-age nutritionists have also recognised its unique properties. In the early 1970s Pecan nuts were the only natural fresh food included by N.A.S.A. in the diet of the astronauts in the Apollo missions thirteen and fourteen.

Pecans remain immensely popular amongst the broader American community which consumes approximately ninety million kilograms of kernel each year.