Adequate N must be available at budbreak to support vegetative growth and leaf expansion which occurs immediately and relatively rapidly after budbreak. The nutritional needs of the orchard cover crop as well as the trees must be in concert. Ideally, peak demands of each would occur at different times of the year. Insects Hundreds of species of arthropods, i.e. insects, mites and spiders, are present in pecan orchards. Harmful insects include various kinds of aphids, worms and true bugs as well as phylloxera, mites, spittlebugs and weevils.
Nature provides some natural pest control by the presence of insects which feed on other arthropods.
Some of the most common predators include various species of lady beetles, lacewings, assassin bugs, spiders, and others. OSU Extension fact sheet F-7307 for additional information on beneficial insects. An effective orchard pest management program manages the orchard ecosystem to attract beneficial insects to the orchard and retain them in numbers sufficient to combat infestations of harmful insects. This usually involves provision of a food source, e.g. aphids. The beneficials must then follow the food source, e.g., aphids, up into the trees as the ground cover growth slows or goes dormant.