Bob, they normally start falling off in late October into November
in Z8 Tx. The husk will turn brown and start opening up and then the nut falls out. If you have green ones falling perhaps the tree is shedding them due to suffering from hot dry weather.
Crack one or two shed ones open and see what gives.
Think there are one or two varieties that ripen and fall as early as Sept, but the husk should be turning brown and then opening up first.

The tree is aborting the nuts. It could be due to a myriad of potential reasons. I would check for insect activity in the nuts and fungal lesions on the husks and insects again within the husks for 'severity'. It could just as well be drought.

Here in zone 5b IL we had one of the coldest winters last year and trees are aborting nuts and I'd say it's likely due to the trees themselves' repairing damaged tissue. The energy is going elsewhere in other words.

Best of luck to you, Bob.

Dax

Most likely you have either pecan weevils or shuckworm that are causing it. The nuts will fall and be worthless until the shell hardens and the water inside the nut starts turning to dough. Once the shell hardens and the kernel becomes solid, the shuckworm and weevil will be able to lay eggs in them without them aborting. (Weevil will still destoy them, but shuckworm will not).

In Texas most nuts should have already passed this point in late August, but if you had a cold spring and a variety that takes a long time to mature, the dough stage might be this late. If this in fact the case, the nuts will stop aborting all at once.

Since you said the nuts are green and large, that pretty much rules out disease or drought causing it, but without being there I can't say for sure.

Cut some open and see if any water is inside. If the aborted nuts are not dark inside and if there is no liquid inside, then I am out of ideas.

if he is having a mast year, as he seems to say ... if that is the right term ... perhaps that is why some.. are falling early ...???

would he be able to presume.. the whole crop will be dropped.. or bad ...???

ken

What is likely happening is the nuts are being attacked by those two pest. If the nuts were aged to the point of being edible then they would not be aborted but would sit on the tree with the pest inside consuming them. Since the nuts were still a few days or weeks away from being edible, they fall off the tree when attacked by the pest.

At this point the nuts probably are not being aborted much any more and the remaining ones in the tree will have some percent that are now being eaten on the inside by little weevils or having the shucks eaten by little shuckworms. Hopefully most will still be good and Bob will get to eat some in a month.

Thank you Scott............. Your info was most helpful and appreciated. There are sooooooo many nuts on the trees this year and I am hoping for a huge crop. So many of my friends are looking forward to their big bag of nuts from me at Xmas. I love pecans and use them in so many different things and just to snack on. Thanks again, Bob

I'd love to hear if they stop aborting and if you eventually get some good nuts from the tree this year.

Thanks again Scott, your info was comforting and informative I do appreciate you taking the time to answer. I will let you know as soon as I know. I am hopeful it will be a "bumper" crop if they turn out to be good nuts. I have started to see some cattipillar nests in one and treated it as soon as I found them. I hope it was soon enough. Bob

cap'n bob,
Lots of pecan info out there on the 'net. One of the best is Dr. Bill Reid's Northern Pecan blogspot - lots of info on pecans, diseases, pests, nut maturation,etc.
Check it out:

Here is a link that might be useful: Bill Reid's Northern Pecan blogspot

Bob, if those are webworms you are seeing, they will cause only superficial (appearance) problems unless they cover a large percentage of the tree, even if untreated.

The blog that Lucky linked is IMO the best resource on the net for most growers outside of the West and Southeast. I check it every day.

Scott...............Thanks again for your insight, it has been most helpful. My pecans have stopped falling from the trees and we have as you must know plenty of rain this past week and again today. I have been fighting with all the catipillars in the trees now. I guess if it's not one thing it's another huh. I've been spraying the trees, ground, bushes and even the roof of the house down, killed thousands but it's only a fraction. I guess the nuts are safe from them but the leaves are taking a hit. Thanks again and take care, Bob

Just FYI, green Black walnut hulls are medicinally used as dewormers, due to their juglone (& iodine?) content. Juglone is what stains your skin brown if you mash the green hulls up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNzEsWx4qZU
You might also be able to make an herbicide or insecticide out if it? Who knows...

But, I believe Pecan hulls are basically the same...

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Walnut Hull