The 2016-17 harvest season was another great year for most pecan growers; prices held at a steady increase overall for the harvest season. Strong pecan prices combined with good yields makes for more investment for most farmers. Most growers would rather keep more of the money on the farm instead of in the hands of Uncle Sam. So what do growers do, they invest in their farm, with new equipment, updating irrigation systems, and of course new pecan tree plantings. Whether it be renovating old orchards with out dated varieties or clearing land for new orchard plantings, pecan growers planted a lot of trees. So, what you ask are the top five most planted trees for 2017? Number one Desirable, the desirable is still a heavily planted pecan tree and has been one of the most popular pecans of the southeastern United States for 30+ years. Number two, the Western Schley, the Western Schley is by far the most popular pecan grown outside of the Southeastern US. With plantings from Hartswater South Africa, Chihuahua Mexico, and West Texas to New Mexico the Western Schley dominates the landscape . Which brings us to number 3 the Wichita, the Wichita is almost always inter-planted with the Western Schley because the two work very well together for pollination, as well as produce similar quality nuts; So chances are if you have western Schley pecans the Wichita will also be nearby. Next on the list is Pawnee, the Pawnee has been a very popular variety in the southeast US, it is very heavily planted with no signs of slowing down. Recently while discussing varieties with nurserymen in both Mexico and South Africa, I asked why they don’t sell varieties such as the Pawnee, and in both locations I received the same answer, they have them for sale but the growers of those regions just don’t plant them. Last but not least the Kiowa, in recent years we have seen more and more Kiowa being plant largely in place of the desirable. This is because the Kiowa produces a nut very similar to the Desirable, many times with higher meat yield, but at a fraction of the input cost of growing the Desirable. So there you have it the top 5 pecans for 2017.