Walnut gardens in Ukraine

This article begins a series of publications about the peculiarities of cultivation technology and how to create walnut gardens in Ukraine varietal range of walnut from the company Alcor With having a garden of walnut and representing in Ukraine services for growing walnuts and seedlings, walnut nursery, Soroca Moldavian varieties.

All kinds of nuts, regardless of origin, have a number of common characteristics in relation to vegetative and reproductive organs. All species have unisexual flowers, but always on the same tree there are pistillate, and staminate flowers. Male flowers collected in the earrings straight and sway, so the pollen falls and is carried by the wind. Earrings with staminate flowers are placed together, 1-3 on last year's growth. The female flower is odnorazovaja ovary of two carpels. Placed at the ends of the fertile growths of the current year, arising from the end of the kidneys. In recent years, established varieties, and fruit from lateral buds.

It was found that after seed germination in walnut faster way to develop the root. In the first year of life grows mostly vertical taproot. Depending on soil conditions, the length of its at this time reaches 50-80 cm aboveground part of the plant does not exceed 35-40 cm In the second year of continued strong growth of the root system, increases the growth of the aerial part, which by autumn reaches more than 1 m height, and thickness above the root collar is 2-3 cm.

The root system develops best on rich well-supplied with moisture soils. This is easily explained by considering that, unlike other fruit crops, the root system of walnut intake is devoid of hairs. The process of absorption of mineral substances in aqueous solution performs the mycorrhizae as a symbiotic relationship between the microorganisms of the soil and the roots of the tree. This explains the fact that on poor eroded soils trees worse than root and grow worse, and when landing, it is necessary to make organic fertilizer, which contributes to a more rapid formation of microflora in the root area of the system, and therefore, the best development of the aerial part. The nature of the growth and development of the root system of a walnut in the first years of life of the tree, in addition to soil conditions, the large influence of the rootstock and characteristics of growing planting material.

Alkor provides services for growing walnuts. Transplant trees at a young age, with good care contributes to a more rapid development of the root system than trees without a transplant. It is quite clear that the good growth of the root system always correlates with good growth of the aerial part of the tree. On a deep Chernozem soils, the absolute majority of the roots of the trees, grafted on seedlings of the black walnut and the nut set in the horizon from 20 to 60 cm depth. In the upper arable horizon and the horizon deeper than 60 cm of roots is very small. Trees with a strong root system, which extends more superficially, in a relatively nutrient-rich horizons have a better development of the aerial part, sooner come into fruition and give higher yields of nuts. Active growth of the main root lasts only 3-5 years, which reaches to this time 3-3. 5 m depth. At the age of 20-30 years, the depth of penetration of the taproot reaches 6.5-7 m, but it is thin and already at a depth of 1.5 m rarely exceeds 3 cm in thickness. In the deeper horizons of this root resembles a thin straight cord. With age the lateral roots thicken, and the radius of the spread sometimes reaches more than 20 m. untrue assertion of some authors that the root system of a walnut, penetrates to a depth of 30 m, using moisture from deep horizons. The nature of the growth and spread of the root system of walnut is greatly affected by fertilizer and irrigation.

Walnut belongs to the group of long-barreled fruit trees. The trunk in the gardens, industrial the required 1.5 m in connection with the technological methods, in the gardens of the gardeners height of the trunk can vary from 0.5 m to 2 m depending on the desires of the gardener. Walnut crown is dome-shaped or spherical shape, reaching up to 25 m. At the young age of the trees have a large peregorodchatoy ability. The buds on the conductor and skeletal branches start to grow, forming a powerful one-year increments, which subsequently are transformed into boughs. Depending on the location and strength development of walnut shoots can be vegetative or fertile. Vegetative shoots are formed from the vegetative or dormant buds, or as the shoots continue, or lateral branching. Fruit-bearing shoots are formed from the apical or nearby them fruit buds. It is established that the shorter the increment, the greater the proportion of staminate buds, and Vice versa – the longer the increment, the greater the proportion of vegetative buds. The walnut fruit is a false drupe, consisting of the pericarp, the actual nuts and closed nuts kernel, the seed germ. Largest nuts are very different. The largest are the "bomb" having a length of 6 cm and the smallest 1.5 cm Thickness of the shell may vary within wide limits, from very thin (1 mm) to very thick (>2.5 mm). The most valuable for the production of varieties are those in which the thickness of the shell ranges from 1 to 1.7 mm. walnut Kernel is covered with a thin leathery shell, having the depending on the varieties color from straw-yellow to almost brown. The shell contains tannins and gives the taste of the kernel is a light astringency and bitterness. Easy to extract the kernel from the shell is a varietal characteristic, with great economic importance. The most significant economic value has the fullness of the nut, the more valuable nuts in which the kernel weight is 50% of the weight of the fetus. In a favourable soil and climatic conditions walnut trees are very long-lived (to 300 years), their height exceeds 30 m. the Duration of the age periods of a walnut stretched more than the other fruit species and depends on growth conditions, method of production, planting material, rootstock, the level of applied agricultural technology and climatic conditions of certain regions and other factors. The period of growth of the tree continues for 10-15 years of growth and fruiting from 20 to 100 years full fruiting up to 200 years, the remaining periods of the life of the tree associated with the fruiting and drying, can last about 100 years. In varietal plantings, planted grafted seedlings of certain valuable varieties, these periods are shorter due to the fact that the trees grow vigorously, sooner come into fruition and less durable. In our conditions, grafted trees begin to bear fruit in the 5th year after planting in the garden, and at the age of 9-10 years depending on grade, up to 20 kg of nuts from one tree. Under all other conditions, trees grown from seed differ in a variety of inherited qualities, late and non-simultaneous entry into fruition. Grafted trees within the varieties uniform in the inheritance of qualities, characterized by simultaneous entry at the time of fruiting, and variation of the crop between the trees is negligible.

Swelling and Bud break in walnut compared to other fruit crops begins the later of the calendar time when the day temperature reaches up to 10-15ºC. At the time of the beginning of the growing season in spring different varieties differ in the high range. Simultaneously with the swelling and blooming vegetative buds starts lengthening male earrings, female flowers appear at the tips of the new growth after the formation of 2-3 leaves, and other forms of and simultaneously with the start of blooming terminal buds. Mass flowering of male and female flowers on the same tree lasts from 4-5 up to 10-11 days. The growth of the fruit occurs in the first month after flowering, in the future, primarily growing the core. The ripening of nuts occurs in the month of September, the foliage is observed, usually after the first autumn frosts.

The following articles will focus on the requirements of a walnut to the soil and climatic conditions, vysvetlit our services to grow saplings of nuts, an assortment offer varieties of walnut from the company Alcor With, offer the technology of cultivation of walnut for different regions of Ukraine both in commercial orchards and in the gardens of gardeners.

There is no single recipe for resolving all issues, because in each case should be guided by the experience and advice of those who can give good advice. Company Alkor With provides services for the cultivation of nuts and also gives the opportunity to buy seedlings of a walnut in Ukraine, vaccinated and always willing to help anyone who expresses the interest and desire to cooperate and develop walnut gardens in Ukraine.