History

     'Sumner' was a seedling discovered in Tifton, GA in ca. 1932 by Walter Sumner.  Common characteristics as well as DNA evidence suggest that 'Schley' may be a parent of 'Sumner' (Conner and Wood, 2000).

Comments

'Sumner' has been included in the Coastal Plain Experimental Orchards since 1940, and was first recommended for Georgia by Dr. Ray Worley.  Our data indicates that 'Sumner' is not a precocious cultivar and can in fact be somewhat slow to come into bearing.  This has also been observed in Louisiana tests (O'Barr et. al., 1992).  Mature tree production was about average in this group of cultivars and 'Sumner' has fairly regular production.  'Sumner' produces relatively large nuts, 56 nuts per pound, of moderate quality. Percent kernel in this test, 49.2%, is lower than the 52% that has been consistently been reported for 'Sumner' in previous tests (Anderson, 1999; Nesbitt et. al., 1997; Worley and Mullinix, 1997).  'Sumner' can overload and alternate and would benefit from crop thinning in some years.  Average harvest date is late, Oct. 29, and this is a major disadvantage of this cultivar.  'Sumner' is a favorite cultivar for black pecan aphids and is typically one of the first to show damage from this pest.  Historically 'Sumner' has been very resistant to scab, and this is one of the key factors in its widespread use.  However, recently scab susceptibility has been reported in Matthews, Georgia (Sparks, 1996).  If loss of resistance becomes widespread for this cultivar, in combination with its late maturity and susceptibility to black pecan aphids, the appeal of this cultivar would be greatly diminished.

Compare kernel yield of 'Sumner' to some other cultivars here.

Pollen shed and pistil receptivity can be found here.