Northern Nut Growers Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-First Annual Meeting: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, September 17, 18, and 19, 1930 — John Shaqi
Northern Nut Growers Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-First Annual Meeting: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, September 17, 18, and 19, 1930
Science
Northern Nut Growers Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-First Annual Meeting: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, September 17, 18, and 19, 1930
Northern Nut Growers Association -- Periodicals; Nut trees -- Periodicals; Nuts -- Periodicals
From the evidence furnished by correspondents and from personal
observation the good qualities of the Japanese walnut may be summed up
as follows:
Rapid growth, marked beauty of form and foliage, early bearing,
productiveness, and more than average hardiness to winter cold. The nuts
from superior trees are easier to crack than the butternut, hickory and
black walnut, but not so easy as the pecan and Persian walnut. These
superior varieties yield nuts with a mild flavor which appeals to the
taste of many people, but others think the flavor is not quite
pronounced enough.
This species crosses readily with the butternut and offers interesting
possibilities for the plant breeder.
The trees appear to be somewhat less susceptible to insects and diseases
than other walnuts, but this may not always hold good.
The defects of the Japanese walnut most frequently mentioned are lack of
flavor and pollination deficiencies. Some trees produce staminate
flowers too early for proper pollination and thus do not yield a crop
unless another good pollinator grows nearby.
Susceptibility to sun-scald and to San Jose scale are some other
weaknesses. Many of the trees commonly grown are undesirable because of
small size of nuts, poor cracking quality and too mild a flavor.
A careful consideration of the good and bad characters of Japanese
walnuts suggests the following program before the culture of this
species can be placed on a sound basis.
1. A systematic and thorough search of the United States and Canada for
productive trees yielding nuts of large size, of good cracking and
extraction quality and pleasing flavor.
2. The propagation and wide dissemination of these superior strains to
members of the Northern Nut Growers Association and particularly to
experiment stations where there seems to be a striking lack of
information on this and other species of nuts.
3. Systematic improvement by means of hybridization with the butternut
and other suitable species.
A program such as this would yield information of great value and would
probably establish the culture of this species on a sounder basis than
it now is. Until this has been done the logical course to follow is to
plant the best varieties in limited numbers in areas where the black
walnut thrives and even in areas too cold for the black walnut.
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: I have been connected with experiment stations
and colleges for the past number of years but I was quite surprised to
find such a general lack of knowledge of nut trees, and especially of
this species. The members of the experiment stations who are here do not
need to feel badly. My remarks wouldn't apply to them.
MEMBER: Any varieties of this that bloom late?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Mr. Gellatly of West Bank, British
Columbia, has a variety that blooms rather late. J. U. Gellatly and his
brother David have the best collection of Japanese walnuts in Canada, of
heartnuts especially.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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