Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) trees have experienced higher density plantings which enhances the need for better water use efficiency to increase the sustainability of the orchard. The implementation of hedge-pruning allows for better light penetration as well as more efficient water use in the humid climate of the southeastern United States. The objectives of this study were to determine if irrigation rates can be reduced on hedge-pruned pecan trees with no loss in pecan yield or nut quality. The study is a split-plot design with pruning serving as the main plot effect and irrigation serving as the split plot effect. On hedge-pruned trees, all growth beyond 8’ from the trunk on the East side of the tree was pruned in year 1 and on the West side of the tree in year 2. Trees were topped on each side in their respective years at an angle with a peak at 40’. No pruning will be done in year 3. Hedging treatments are arranged in three tree blocks with each irrigation treatment occurring once per block as follows: 1) 100% irrigation; 2) 50 % irrigation; 3) non-irrigated control. Hedged blocks were replicated four times, and the non-hedged blocks were replicated three times. Among the irrigation regimes, there was no statistical difference between treatments indicating that, under the environmental conditions observed, less water is sufficient for pecan production, regardless of pruning treatment. Although, there has been no improvement in yield from the hedge-pruned trees, percent kernel has increased in the hedged trees compared to the non-hedged trees, suggesting an enhancement of pecan nut quality with hedge pruning.
