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Planting Hickory Nut Trees

The genus, Carya, containsseveral valuable timber and nut trees. Membersof the Walnut Family, all of its major speciesare native to North America. All are tall statelytrees with alternate compound leaves. Male andfemale flowers appear on the same tree, but indifferent clusters. The fruit is actually a fleshydrupe, though popularly called a nut. The nutsof several species are highly desired for eating.In the last 3o years several tree selections have been made, based on the flavor of the nut kernelor on the ease with which the shell can becracked.

The native hickory species are the Ivlockernut,C. tomentosa; the Bitternut, C. cordiformis; thePignut, C. glabra; the Bitter Pecan, C. aquatica;the Pecan, C. illinoensis; the Shelibark, C.laciniosa; and the Shagbark, C. ovata. Of thesethe Pecan, the Shellbark and the Shagbark havehard husked nuts, the kernels of which arehighly prized as edible food.

The first of these, the Pecan, C. illinoensis(C. pecan) is indigenous throughout theMississippi Valley as far north as Iowa, alsoalong most of the streams in Tex. and Okla. Itis also native to northern Mexico.

Growing pecans for their nuts has become anindustry of considerable importance. Originallycommercial Pecan-growing was largely re-stricted to Tex., Okla., Ark. and La. Morerecently named varieties are being grownthroughout the South and as far north assouthern Ind., Ill. and Iowa. The production ofpecans in the United States has increasedsteadily during the last 40 years, presentlytotalling over 200 million pounds annually. Thisrepresents more than 1o% of all nuts. Thetexture, aroma and appetizing flavor of pecansmakes them valuable for flavoring baked goods,candies, dairy products, salads and desserts.

Several hundred varieties are now beinggrown. They vary in yield, bearing habit,resistance to insects and diseases as well asresponse to cultural practices and climatic condi-tions. Varieties commercially important numberabout 15. Percent of kernel in the namedvarieties varies from 37 to slightly over 5o.`Bradley', `Stuart', 'Moneymaker', 'President',`Pabst', `Farley', `Success' and `Desirable' areamong the leaders in the Pecan orchards ofGa. and Fla. and in some of the states to thewest.

Northern Pecan strains are growing in Mich.,Ohio, Pa., parts of N.Y. and nearby states. Evenin these states the cold does not harm the tree,but the nut crop usually fails to mature becauseof the shortness of the season. The northernlimit of Pecan growing is Zone 4. Here thevarieties 'Busseron', 'Butterick', 'Green River',`Indiana', and 'Niblack' do well. In Tex. andthe Mississippi Valley 'Stuart', 'Schley', 'VanDemand' and 'Curtis' are most commonlygrown.

A young Pecan tree has a long, stout taproot.Successful planting is not easy because of thesparsity of lateral roots. When planting, greatcare must be used not to injure the taproot. Adeep hole must be dug to accommodate it. Userich sandy loam when planting the tree andremember that pecans become large, broad trees with a massive root system as they becomeolder. They should be planted at least 75 ft.apart.

Once a young tree is established, it sends outlong lateral roots in all directions. They aregenerally within to in. of the soil surface, soonly shallow cultivation is practiced. Mulchingwith a variety of materials to conserve moistureand prevent weed growth is common.

Because of its commercial importance insectpests and diseases of Pecan require specialattention. The hickory shuckworm is a destruc-tive pest which destroys shucks and preventsnormal nut development. Case-bearing cater-pillars, weevils, scale insects, aphids, cucurlioand round-headed appletree borer can all betroublesome. Their prevalence varies from stateto state. Methods of control also vary. Theextension service of the state university shouldbe sought out for current control methods.

The Shellbark Hickory, C. laciniosa, becomesa tree, tall and broad, with light gray shaggybark. The leaflets vary from 7 to 9. The nut isthick shelled, but the meat or kernel is delight-fully sweet. Of the several named Hickoryselections, at least one, `Weipee, is a Shellbark,originating in Pa. The nut is quadrangular,while the shell is thick, but reasonably easy tocrack. The kernel is plump and of good flavor.

The Hican, a hybrid between C. illinoensisand C. laciniosa, has aroused considerableinterest, because it can be gown successfullyin the northern tier of states and will mature acrop of nuts. It is of special interest to membersof the Northern Nut Growers Association. Thez varieties of the Hican, 'Burlington' and`Bixby', produce the largest nuts. Bearing isoften light. Nut quality is superior. Culturalpractices are similar to those for Pecan.

The Shagbark Hickory, C. ovate, may reachtoo ft. in height. The leaflets are 5 in number(rarely 7), the margins fringed with hairs. Theattractive gray bark loosens and comes off inwide plates during the growing season. Severalnamed selections of trees with superior nuts arcavailable in nurseries that specialize in nut trees.Among them are 'Hales' which originated inN.J., 'Kirtland', a rather large nut with athinner shell permitting easy cracking and`Kentucky' which has a kernel plump andangular, rich and sweet.

In times past the Mockernut, C. tomentosa,was gathered from the wild in those areas wheretrees were plentiful and productive. But thepercent of kernel is so small the results wereseldom worth the effort. The Pignut, C. glabra,is difficult to crack and has a minimum of meat.The Bitternut, C. cordiformis, is bitter, astrin-gent and inedible.

Hickory trees are difficult to propagate vegetatively, although new techniques _simplifying the practice. All hickories lta .large tap roots when quite young, makingtrees difficult to handle in the nursery, limits the number of nurseries that carry in stock.

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