PECAN KERNEL COLOR - STANDARDS USING THE MUNSELL COLOR NOTATION SYSTEM

The Munsell Color System was used to define pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch] kernel colors and color changes for 21 clones, 11 locations, and 4 storage methods for nuts collected over a 4-year per iod, Hue readings ranged from 10.0 (10 red) to 22.5 (2.5 yellow), Valu e readings ranged from 2.5 to 8.0 and chroma readings ranged from 1.0 to 8.0, A total of 91 color chips (individual combinations of hue, val ue, and chroma) were needed to describe kernel color variability, In 1 987 and 1988, One color [15.0/5/4 (hue/value/chroma)] accounted for 3, 979 of the 32,078 readings taken, and the 15 most common colors accoun ted for 80.7 % of all the readings, The Munsell system of color determ ination was well suited for pecan color determinations, A simplified c olor rating system with only six color classes was developed for gener al use by the pecan industry, This system is also routinely used in ou r breeding and genetics program to define this very important quality trait in pecan.