Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Second Annual Meeting / Ithaca, New York, December 14 and 15, 1911

by Unknown

The influence of the stock upon the scion is something that has not yet been fully worked out, and for that reason it is impossible to say why the grafted or budded tree does not always take on the bearing qualities of the parent, although it is pretty safe to say that as a rule its qualities are very closely approximated, and by careful selection it is possible to get grafted and budded trees that begin bearing very early and bear with a great degree of regularity.

In visiting a tree while the nuts are green, one can get some idea as to its bearing quality by the number and size of the clusters hanging on the limbs. A tree that is a poor bearer, or bears only a fair crop, usually bears its nuts in clusters of one to three, while a good bearer produces clusters of from three to six. I have seen as many as eight nuts in a cluster in the South, and have seen some clusters of seven on some of our Indiana trees, but as a rule good bearing trees of the Indiana group have clusters of about four to five nuts each.

After the tree qualities have been determined, it is then necessary to consider the nut itself. The nut must be of fair size, of good flavor, thin to medium thickness of shell, well filled, and of good cracking quality—that is, the conformation of the shell and kernel must be such that a large percentage of the kernels can be taken out as whole halves, and the convolutions of the kernels must be wide enough that the partitions do not adhere to them. When all of these qualities, both of the tree and nut, can be combined, we then have a desirable tree from which to propagate, and it is very surprising how few come up to the standard. In one wild grove in Kentucky, on the banks of the Ohio River just across from Indiana, near the mouth of the Green River, there are nearly 300 acres of wild pecan trees. In this grove are perhaps more than a thousand trees, and so far as I have been able to determine up to date, there are but three trees out of the whole grove that come near my notion of the standard.

Sometimes, however, a tree or a nut may grade up so high on some one point as to make it a desirable variety from which to propagate, even though it does not grade high on other desirable points. For example, one of the most desirable southern pecans, perhaps, considering only the nut itself, is the "Schley," yet the tree is reputed to be of very medium bearing quality. The nut is so very fine, however, that no southern grove of pecans is complete without a fair percentage of "Schley" trees. On the other hand, the "Stuart," another southern variety, has not ranked nearly so high as the "Schley," considering only the nut; and yet there are probably twice as many "Stuarts" being put out in the South today as any other variety, for the simple reason that it is a good-sized nut and the tree has a very fine bearing record. All these things have to be taken into consideration by those of us who are undertaking to propagate northern varieties.

There is unquestionably a large area of country extending approximately from the latitude of Atlanta, Ga., to that of Terre Haute, Ind., in which there is a great field for experimenting with the northern varieties of pecans. It is a great mistake to undertake to bring the southern varieties too far north. A majority of the finest of the southern varieties originated on the Gulf Coast, and it is true that they can be brought a considerable distance north of there, but I have always doubted their successful growth with any degree of certainty of crops north of Atlanta, Ga.; for I think it is pretty well conceded that if one undertakes to crowd the northern limits with the southern varieties of pecans, they become uncertain in their bearing habits and the pecans are much smaller and not as well filled. On the other hand, it is my opinion that the northern pecan can be taken south of its origin with complete safety. The longer growing season will probably add to the certainty of the crops and the size of the nuts. It is also very important for the grower of these northern varieties of pecans to recognize the fact that they cannot be taken too far north of the location of the parent tree. The limits, however, both of the northern and southern varieties are not arbitrary, as they depend very much upon proximity to the ocean and other moderating influences. For example, it is very probable that pecans can be cultivated much farther north close to either the Atlantic or Pacific Coast than they can in the Middle West. All of these things remain yet to be determined, but it is important to distinguish between the setting of orchards for commercial purposes and the setting of trees for purely experimental purposes.

There is unquestionably a great section of the country comprising approximately, as I have said, the territory lying between the latitude of Atlanta, Ga., and Terre Haute, Ind., in which pecans can be commercially produced successfully. In the near future I expect to see pecan orchards of these northern varieties producing fine nuts and bearing as regularly in the northern sections as they do in the South. The prospective orchardist, however, must look well to the varieties which he selects and the latitude of the parent tree from whence they come and the geographical conditions that influence the weather.

I have referred to Evansville, Ind., as being about the center of the Indiana Group. The average fall frost period at Evansville is about the 20th of October. The average period of the last spring frost is about April the 9th. This will serve somewhat as a guide to the prospective commercial orchardist. However, most of the trees of the Indiana Group do not pollenate until about the 10th of May, and the great majority of them ripen their nuts by the 15th of October, and several of the good trees ripen their nuts by the 1st of October, though they usually are not gathered till later.

The northernmost tree, so far as I know, that has been deemed worthy of observation is the "Hodge," which is native in Illinois, about eighty-five miles north of Evansville, Ind., and a few miles southwest of Terre Haute, Ind. It is one of the largest of the northern varieties, and is a fair nut, but does not grade high in filling qualities, and the bearing record of the parent tree has not yet been determined. The tree is crooked and very unprepossessing looking, and stands in the woods where it has a very poor chance. When I visited it this year, it had a very light crop of nuts, but I did not condemn it, for the reason that any tree growing under the same conditions could not be expected to bear very well. I expect to observe the tree for several years in the future, and determine further as to its bearing record. It is possible that trees propagated from this variety, under favorable conditions, may prove to be good bearers.

The next northernmost trees of the desirable varieties are the "Indiana" and "Busseron," standing about 100 yards apart, west of Oaktown, Knox County, Indiana, about sixty-five miles north of Evansville. Mr. Mason J. Niblack, of Vincennes, Ind., has had these trees under observation for a number of years, and it is due to his interest that they were brought to the attention of the public. The "Busseron" is an old tree that is reputed to have a very fine bearing record. A few years ago, the owner of this tree cut all the top out of it, and this crippled the tree very badly and set it back for quite a while. When I visited it last August, it had put up new growth, and the few remaining old limbs that had been left on it were hanging full of clusters containing four and five nuts each. "The Indiana," standing a short distance away, is a comparatively young tree, and is thought to be a seedling of the "Busseron," as the two nuts resemble one another very much. The "Indiana" has been cut very severely for grafting wood the last few years, and it is therefore difficult to give very authentic information as to its bearing record. It appears, however, to be a very promising tree, and when I visited it in August it had a fair crop of nuts. The clusters were not large—mostly two and three each. The tree looked very thrifty, and from the best information that I have been able to gather in reference to it, I consider it a desirable variety from which to propagate. My choice of the two trees is the "Busseron," although the "Indiana" has made an excellent showing, considering the severe prunings for grafting wood.

Coming down near the center of the Indiana Group, we have the "Warrick," growing in Warrick County, Indiana, which took the prize at the pecan show at Mt. Vernon, Ind., in 1909, and is a fair nut of more than average size. It is reputed to have a good bearing record, but I have not yet had opportunity to completely verify this.