An Overview of the Evolution of the U.S. Pecan Industry

Pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch], preferably pronounced as pi-´kan over pi-´kan or ´pē-,kan (Llewellyn 1985), is one of the few native North American plant species that has been developed into a significant agricultural crop. It has also become one of the few indigenous U.S. food crops that is commercially cultivated outside the U.S. (i.e., Mexico, Australia, South Africa, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, etc.). As perhaps the economically most significant native contributor to the U.S. agricultural economy, wholesale revenues approximate $200 million annually (USDA 1991) and approaches $400 million when all aspects of the industry are included (Crocker 1989).