So the biospherians had to go shaking trees to simulate wind and stimulate growth. All of which has nothing to do with acorns but it amused me.

an early american adage says:
A mule, a woman, a hickory tree,
the more you beat them, the better they be.

it's true for hickory trees (pecan's are member of the hickory family)-- beating the trunk, not so hard as to break the bark, but firmly none the less, stimulated production of nuts.

i think there is still a lot we don't know about what improves/contols nut/fruit production in lots of trees.