Mid-season Update on Pecan Scab in Albany, Georgia | Dougherty County Extension Services

Pecan scab is a major concern for pecan growers during this time of the growing season. The hot and humid South Georgia summer provides favorable environmental conditions for the development and spread of pecan scab. It is challenging for growers to keep the disease pressure under control in the susceptible cultivars. Growers depend on strict fungicide spray schedules to manage this disease in their orchards. However, the sensitivity of the scab pathogen to fungicide chemistries varies across locations over time.

UGA Extension coordinates a multi-location, on-farm fungicide spray research project across the state to test the sensitivity of the pecan scab pathogen to commercially available fungicides. We are carrying out this pecan scab fungicide spray trial at two local farms in Dougherty County. We are seeing heavy leaf and nut scab pressure this year in susceptible varieties in the Albany area, which look quite similar to the mid-season scab pressure during last year. Heavy rain and elevated temperatures seem to have accelerated the spread of the fungal pathogen. In this article, we would like to share some pictures from the on-farm trials to provide a snapshot of the scab pressure in Albany, Georgia, as of June 29, 2026.

Table 1. Information on Pecan Fungicide Spray Trials in Dougherty County, 2026

Trial locations	Pippin Farms & Pine Knoll Pecan Ducker Plantation, Albany, GA
Cultivars	Byrd & Cunard
Application method	Pecan Terminal Sprays using a hand sprayer
Application interval	14 days

The eight treatments (7 different fungicides and one untreated control) are listed below.

Table 2. Fungicide Treatments in the Pecan Fungicide Trials 2026

Treatment	Rate/A	Mix/2l	Flag color
Dodine	48 fl oz	7.6 ml	Yellow
Dodine+Super Tin	24 fl oz + 6.0 fl oz	3.8 ml + 1.0 ml	Yellow/ Black strip
Super Tin	12 fl oz	1.9 ml	Orange
Miravis Top	13.7 fl oz	2.1 ml	Green/Black strip
Kphite	64 fl oz	10.0 ml	Red
Quadris/ Abound	12 fl oz	1.9 ml	Red/ Black Stripe
Absolute Max	7.7 fl oz	1.2 ml	Blue
Untreated/Control	–	–	White

Each pecan terminal is sprayed with a fungicide treatment at a 14-day interval starting from May 18^th, 2026. All trees in the trial were sprayed with the same pre-pollination fungicide spray program before the beginning of the trial. The pictures below were captured on the morning of June 29^th, 2026, after the fourth spray of the fungicide program. These pictures offer a snapshot of the nut terminals for each fungicide treatment. These pictures may not be fully representative of all the replications in the trial, although we have tried our best to select a representative nut terminal to offer a more accurate pictorial illustration. The images below do not offer any statistical insights on the effectiveness of the fungicides. We will collect disease incidence and severity ratings data in late July / early August to draw meaningful insights for the growers.