Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
6.8.3 Plantings
As with fruit trees, nut trees are often produced by grafting a particular, often named,
tree type bud onto a specific rootstock. Often the rootstock is chosen from a
disease-resistant tree of the same type. These grafted plants will be grown for a year
or more in a nursery before transplanting into an orchard. This process is particularly
important if one wishes to be assured of a high-quality crop with known characteristics.
Planting from seed will produce plants with varying characteristics and will bear fruits
with different characteristics. Thus, to have an orchard that will produce the desired nut
of the specific type, grafted plants are necessary; see Figure 6.26.
In a limited number of cases, for instance, black walnuts, trees are grown from
seed. This approach may be used when the nuts to be produced are not intended to
be the major crop or the characteristic of the nut is not that important. In the case of
black walnut the wood of a mature tree is highly valuable, and so the planting may
have the primary purpose of producing wood rather than nuts.
Some nut species require a pollinizer tree for nut production. This is a tree, some-
times considered a male tree, that produces pollen for the crop. In the case of almonds,
for instance, cross pollination with another cultivar
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of almond is necessary. Because
different cultivars produce pollen at different times, it may be necessary to have two
different cultivars in addition to the main planting. Typically, only a limited number
of trees are needed for cross pollination.
6.8.4 Cultivation
As with any tree, nut plantations or plantings are long-term commitments. Because of
this, care must be taken in selecting a suitable site. Soil, rainfall, climate, water avail-
ability, and drainage all must be suitable for the trees that are to be planted (additional
information about the soil requirements for tree plants is given in Chapter 9). When a
Figure
6.26.
Pecan nut orchard. (Courtesy of Georgia Farm Bureau: Shot by Jennifer Whittaker.)
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A cultivar is a distinct type of the same species of plant that has unique characteristics, that are predictably
displayed.
