Pecan groves (trees established by natural forces) and orchards (trees planted by man) consisted of diverse nuts with various sizes, shapes, shell characteristics, flavor, fruiting ages and ripening dates. In the midst of this variability, there was the occasional discovery of a wild tree with unusually large, thin-shelled nuts, which were in high demand by customers.
In 1822, Abner Landrum of South Carolina discovered a pecan budding technique, which provided a way to graft plants derived from superior wild selections (or, in other words, to unite with a growing plant by placing in close contact). However, this invention was lost or overlooked until 1876 when an African-American slave gardener from Louisiana named Antoine successfully propagated pecans by grafting a superior wild pecan to seedling pecan stocks. Antoine’s clone was named “Centennial” because it won the Best Pecan Exhibited award at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. His 1876 planting, which eventually became 126 Centennial trees, was the first official planting of improved pecans.
The successful use of grafting techniques led to grafted orchards of superior genotypes and proved to be a milestone for the pecan industry. The adoption of these techniques was slow and had little commercial impact—until the 1880's when Louisiana and Texas nurserymen learned of pecan grafting and began propagation on a commercial level. Thus was the start of a booming pecan growing and shelling industry!
1500's
Native Americans utilized and cultivated wild pecans
1600's - 1700's
Spanish colonists cultivated orchards (late 1600's – early 1700's)
English settlers planted pecan trees (1700's)
George Washington planted pecan trees (1775)
Thomas Jefferson planted pecan trees (1779)
Economic potential for pecans realized (late 1700's)
Pecans exported by French to the West Indies (1802)
Pecan budding technique discovered (1822)
Successful grafting of the pecan tree (1846)
First planting of improved pecans (1876)
Commercial propagation of pecans begins (1880's)
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