Toasted pecans.If the syrupy smell of pecan pie makes your mouth water, there's bad news: Last fall, severe storms wiped out crops of pecans in Alabama Alabama, indigenous people of North America Alabama (ăləbăm`ə), indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). and Georgia--the United States' top growers. In September, three hurricanes (rotating ro·tate v. ro·tat·ed, ro·tat·ing, ro·tates v.intr. 1. To turn around on an axis or center. 2. tropical storms tropical storm n. A cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 kilometers (30 to 75 miles) per hour. tropical storm ) walloped the southeast U.S. where pecans are farmed. Pecans aren't harvested until mid-October. So the nuts--sealed inside husks (outer covering of seeds)--were dangling from tree branches when the storms hit. Wind blasts topping 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour snapped off loads of unripe pecans. Worse? "The hurricanes' wind heaved root systems from the ground, causing pecan trees to topple over," says Tim Brenneman, a plant scientist at the University of Georgia Organization The President of the University of Georgia (as of 2007, Michael F. Adams) is the head administrator and is appointed and overseen by the Georgia Board of Regents. . Georgia lost 30 million pounds, or 60 million pies, worth of the nuts. Still, one pecan-picker lucked out: After the skies cleared, Brenneman says, squirrels gorged gorge n. 1. A deep narrow passage with steep rocky sides; a ravine. 2. A narrow entrance into the outwork of a fortification. 3. on some of the fallen nuts. FULL O' NUTS: It takes nearly 80 nuts to make a pecan pie. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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