Thanksgiving Pecan Pies at Risk After Irma Ravaged Orchards
- Hurricane’s winds knock nuts off branches, blow down trees
- Harvest in No. 1 pecan state Georgia may slump 30% from damage
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Hurricane Irma’s come and gone, but her aftermath will continue to upend millions of lives and even put Thanksgiving pies at risk.
The storm tore through pecan orchards in Georgia, the No. 1 U.S. grower, just a few weeks before the crop is usually harvested. As much as 30 percent of production may have been lost after high winds sent pods flying off branches and blew down trees that in some cases measure several stories high, said Lenny Wells, a professor and pecan specialist at University of Georgia in Tifton.