The pecan tree is a tree native to North America. When the first European settlers crossed the sea to settle the New World, they found pecan trees located in numerous places in this new land. Since then, the pecan tree has become one of the most important orchard species in terms of acreage. Indians began using pecans nearly 8,000 years ago in what is now Texas. The first flowering pecan trees were produced in Louisiana in the mid-1800s, and orchards have been established throughout the Southern states. The first recorded shipment of pecans to England was documented in 1761 by Spanish and European explorers (Anderson and Crocker, 2004). In 1917, a commercial shipment of pecans left Georgia, and Georgia has been the leading producer of pecans ever since. Although Georgia is the leading producer, in some years pecan harvests from wild trees in Oklahoma and Texas exceed production in Georgia. The life cycle of a pecan tree has four main components: germination, rooting, budding, shelf life, and reproduction. The many different elements of the pecan tree life cycle contribute to the growth and development of the pecan trees we see today. The life cycle of a pecan tree includes many different elements. The cycle begins with the spreading and germination of seeds. Mature pecan trees produce and drop thousands of seeds to the ground during the fall season. The dispersal of these seeds can occur through water, wind or animals, but the wind will eventually pollinate the seeds. The seeds of the pecan tree remain dormant during the winter and will begin the growth process in the spring. Seeds require adequate amounts of heat and rain during the winter and early spring months. Once the germination process is complete, the seed... in the center of the paper... l, Ted E. and Bruce W. Wood. “Movement of adult pecan weevils Curculio caryae within pecan orchards.” Agricultural and Forestry Entomology 10, n. 4 (November 2008): 363-373. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 18, 2012). Anderson, P.C. and T.E. Crocker. “The pecan tree.” Solutions for Your Life: University of Florida IFAS Extension (2004). Network. April 18, 2012.Christman, Steve. "Floridata: Carya Illinoinensis." FLORIDATED. Floridata.com LC, August 30, 2000. Web. April 18, 2012. http://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cary_ill.cfm.Wells, Lenny. “Nutritional, Environmental, and Cultural Disorders of Pecans.” The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (2010): 1-12. Network. April 19, 2012.Ree, Bill. “Pests of Pecan Insects.” Pecan kernel. Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University. Network. April 19, 2012. http://pecankernel.tamu.edu/pecan_insects/pests/index.html.