Benefits and income from walnuts and pine nuts.

Interest in nut farming as a profitable business is growing. Director of the Institute of Nut Crops Vitaly Radko talks about the features of this segment.

- What trends in the field of walnut farming can you note?

Walnut farming in Ukraine, despite the existing problems in the state, is developing, not least thanks to the purchase price for nuts, which remains at the level of 150 UAH, which encourages farmers to pay attention to this crop as a source of main or additional income. Unfortunately, so far 95% of the nut harvest is collected in the private sector. I would like to believe that the situation will change soon, because the demand in domestic and foreign markets is very high.

- What can you name as the main obstacles to the development of walnut farming?

Financial questions. Consider for yourself, at the initial stage you need to spend at least 80-100 thousand UAH for 1 hectare, of which 50 thousand UAH should be paid immediately. If you add the cost of irrigation, then this is another $1-1.5 thousand/ha. Add the cost of maintenance in the first 4-5 years, until the garden begins to fully bear fruit, and you will feel how high the threshold for “entry” into the business is.

The walnut farmer cannot take out a loan from a bank because he needs to pay interest and there is no working capital. No bank will defer payments for 5 years. Of course, we hope for government support. New programs initiated by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy could somehow solve the issue of financing the industry.

Producers complain that the limiting factor in growing walnut plantations is not so much the cost of planting as the lack of quality planting material on the market. This is true?

According to my data, Ukraine produces about 150-200 thousand seedlings per year, imports 30-50 thousand per year. If you compare prices, an imported seedling costs € 11-16/piece. The main supplier of walnut seedlings to the Ukrainian market is Moldova. Their seedlings are of good quality, but the cost somewhat offsets the profit. Seedlings are also imported from France, but they do not take root well in Ukraine. The price of Ukrainian seedlings is 300-320 UAH/piece.

- Why so expensive? Due to high demand?

You correctly noted that in Ukraine there is a relatively low supply of quality seedlings. I do not agree with the fact that the price has increased recently. The euro exchange rate has risen, and the domestic price has also risen. And the price was €10-15 2-3 seasons ago.

- What is better - to patriotically buy seedlings in Ukraine, or to import them?

The most appropriate thing is to establish modern nut nurseries in Ukraine in order to increase the resources of existing ones.

There is great interest in creating queen cells, but from a technological point of view it is difficult to plant them. First, you need to grow seedlings with a specific root system in a specific growing area (zoned varieties). Secondly, you need a high-quality rootstock, which is difficult to find in Ukraine. Third, it’s a matter of time - if we establish a mother garden in Ukraine, we will receive rootstocks only in 5-6 years. Until they live, several more years will pass - in total, 7-8 years. The market will not wait for that much product.

If you are starting new industrial walnut orchards, on what number of hectares is it advisable to start?

Everything is individual. It is difficult to recommend someone to start a plantation of 20 hectares if the funds are only enough for 1 hectare. At the same time, if there is 2 hectares of personal peasant farming, then it is not practical to switch directly to industrial production, which requires mechanized harvesting. The most optimal economy starts with 10 hectares of walnut plantations. Massifs of more than 50 hectares also deserve attention, but you need to be careful here. For example, in the Dnepropetrovsk region, a walnut orchard with an area of ​​500-600 hectares was established, and it had to be uprooted due to the spread of fungal diseases on the trees, against which plant protection products were powerless.

- What is the average walnut yield in Ukraine? How does it compare with European and global indicators?

There are few orchards producing commercial fruit in Ukraine, so there are also problems in terms of productivity. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the average nut yield in the country is 7 t/ha, however, this statistics is very arbitrary, because most of the crops are grown on household farms, so we are not talking about accurate accounting of areas and yields. In reality, the normal yield of a walnut orchard in Ukraine is 2-2.5 t/ha, sometimes we have record holders who receive 6-7 and even 8 t/ha. Abroad, walnut yields vary depending on climatic conditions and varieties. In California, 7 t/ha of nuts are harvested, in France - 5-6 t/ha, in Moldova - 3-3.5 t/ha.

- Which regions, according to your observations, are the most suitable for the development of walnut farming?

There are a number of criteria for planting a walnut orchard, including temperature, precipitation, groundwater level, and soil acidity. It is impossible to clearly identify any area. The largest number of plantings and leadership in walnut growing are now in the Chernivtsi, Khmelnitsky, Odessa and partially Nikolaev regions. Chernihiv region, Slobozhanshchina, Dnepropetrovsk region are risky walnut growing zones. There is a pronounced continental climate here - moderate frosts, sudden temperature changes, which walnut categorically does not accept. Last year's frost of -5 0 C caused irreparable damage to 50-60% of plantings in some regions.

Regarding the practical aspects of cultivation. What do plantation owners most often have to struggle with?

First of all, the safety of seedlings: our people sometimes have a “mentality” - if an entrepreneur has planted a walnut orchard, then he has high-quality seedlings and you can take “a little” home. Sometimes it happens that people plant 30-70 hectares and literally after 2-3 weeks 30% of the seedlings disappear in an unknown direction. The owners no longer have enough money to hire security - after all, in addition to wages, it is necessary to create living conditions for the security guards, buy dogs and the like.

Another nuance is the type of planting of the garden and, accordingly, its fruiting. In Ukraine, apical planting is practiced - the nut grows along the perimeter. But in California, the lateral type of planting is common - around the perimeter and inside. With this scheme, thanks to special pruning, the nuts can be encouraged to grow and intensify. If mass pruning is carried out in Ukraine, then next year the owners will not reap the harvest, so it is carried out 4-5 years after planting, and adult trees are subjected only to sanitary pruning.

The nut, whatever one may say, needs additional hydration. If this is ensured, it is possible to increase the overall yield, kernel fullness, and minimize diseases. The type of irrigation must be chosen carefully. Conventional drip irrigation for walnuts is technologically difficult to apply - moisture, if it gets on one side of the tree, is not transferred by the roots to the other side, so on one side the plant will be waterlogged, and on the other it will dry out. Therefore, when installing systems, it is extremely necessary to use the advice of specialists.

Nowadays there is a lot of talk about the fact that greater profitability can be obtained in the production of hazelnuts. Is this true?

Economic calculations show that walnuts and hazelnuts have approximately the same profitability. Usually there is a difference between technology and start-up capital, but the total costs are the same. Judge for yourself - a walnut according to the 10 * 10 scheme is one hundred seedlings at a price of 35,000 UAH, the price of one hazelnut seedling, depending on the variety and origin, is 80-100 UAH, 35-40 seedlings are needed for 1 hectare, so the cost of planting virtually equal to a walnut garden. The maintenance and technological care of hazelnuts in their natural (technological) form differ, but the cost is approximately the same $400/ha. Now let’s compare the revenue - walnuts give a yield of 3 t/ha, if you multiply them by 40% of the yield at a price of 120 UAH/kg and this will give 144 thousand UAH/ha, hazelnuts also have a yield of 2 t/ha, and not peeled, directly from the field, costs approximately 70-80 UAH/kg, which in monetary terms is approximately 150 thousand UAH/ha. That is, I cannot say unequivocally that hazelnuts are profitable.

- What other types of nuts may become popular among producers in the near future?

We calculated the profitability of black walnut and pecan nut - these are interesting and profitable products. Their supply on the market is very limited. However, in Ukraine there is neither experience in growing them, nor normal technology. Among other things, there is an implementation problem - you need to provide a certificate of origin, which no one can currently issue to the manufacturer. There are problems with walnuts here, not to mention pecans and black nuts, which are essentially wild plants. Therefore, from an administrative point of view, introducing new varieties of nuts into the culture is a difficult issue.

How satisfied is domestic demand for nuts? Are Ukrainian products competitive on the international market?

According to standards, a person should consume 26 kg/year. Ukrainians consume no more than 1.3-1.5 kg/year. But the economic side of the issue comes into play here - Ukrainians are ready to consume more, but the price of the product is stopping them. Purchasing power is very low.

Regarding potential exports. According to FAO experts, Europe needs an additional 100 thousand tons of walnuts annually. Ukraine ranks 4th in the EU in nut production and is a leader in exports in Europe. We need to maintain these positions and increase our presence in other countries. And it’s worth it, because the price of hulled walnuts on the world market is $5-7/kg, depending on the color, fraction and country of origin, unshelled walnuts are $2/kg.

- How do you see the nut market in the future, say, in 3-4 years?

This area will continue to develop in two to three years and beyond. The two biggest problems are the inaccessibility of funds for planting walnut orchards and the lack of quality seedlings. If we overcome it, everything will be fine.

Irina Zolotareva

Ecology of life. One of the main advantages of this direction is that the demand for this useful product is growing every year, but there are not so many businessmen who are engaged in cultivation on an industrial scale. Why?

One of the main advantages of this direction is that the demand for this useful product is growing every year, but there are not so many businessmen who are engaged in cultivation on an industrial scale. Why? Firstly, this is a purely seasonal business, many are not ready to wait and hope that there will be a harvest and that the profit received will meet expectations. Secondly, the lack of areas for planting.

What are the benefits of walnuts? They have long been recognized as the most useful product on earth. They have a positive effect on the functioning of the brain and the human body as a whole. Even scientists recommend eating a dozen of these fruits every day, and then you will not be afraid of any diseases. This nut contains iodine and many useful microelements: proteins, fats and vitamin E.

This line of business is also one of the few that can be classified as a passive form of income. So, having planted trees once, you will be able to collect fruits for many years. They do not require special care and take root well in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
The largest producer of walnuts is the USA, as well as some European countries.
One of the main sales areas for nuts is the medical industry. Various medicinal tinctures are made from them.

How to choose a variety of walnuts?

It's no secret that by choosing the right varieties of these fruits you can not only get good harvests, but also build a ripening structure for different seasons. So one of the most popular varieties of walnuts is “Ideal”. It is not for nothing that this variety bears this name; it received it due to its characteristics. So it has a thin shell, and the average kernel weight is about 10 grams. A 20-year-old tree can produce 120 kg of fruit annually. Usually this variety begins to bear fruit after 3 years after planting. Experienced entrepreneurs buy this type of tree as early as five years of age in order to quickly reach the level of high productivity.
“Ideal” has excellent frost tolerance and can withstand temperatures greater than -30 degrees Celsius.

But you shouldn’t focus on just one type. It is advisable to dilute your planting with other varieties of nuts. So, another popular variety can be called “Giant”. It got its name from the size of the fruit, whose average weight is about 30 grams. So the yield of this variety can reach 35 centners per hectare of planting.

Also, important parameters when choosing a variety are:

shell wall thickness;
core size.

Thus, buyers are not very willing to buy half-empty nuts with thick skins. It is popularly believed that the thinner the walls of the nut and the larger the kernel, the more valuable the product itself. Many world scientists are trying to develop varieties that are ideal in this ratio. So one of them is the French variety - “Frankette”. And in California, they completely bred a nut with the so-called paper type of shell - “Site Rosa Soft Shell”. It is also quite productive, but it is not known how it will react to our climate, and plus, it will be destroyed by our birds, who can cope with our varieties of nuts.

Before planting, walnuts require serious care of the soil in which they will grow. Your planting will be long lasting. If you have clayey terrain, you will need to use organic fertilizers to loosen it a little and establish a system for water inflow and outflow.
It is clear that before planting, the area needs to be cleared of weeds and the area can be cultivated.

Technology:

1.) Plant rows in a north-south direction to ensure good daylight coverage.

2.) The planting pattern on normal soil is usually 5x5m. On poor soils, it is advisable to make larger distances of about 7x7m. But when choosing this scheme, you first need to focus on the size of the upper part of the tree of a particular type of nut.

3.) The hole is made measuring 50 cm in diameter and about 70 - 75 cm in depth.

4.) Fertilizers are poured into the pit, which should sit for 2 days. For 12–15 kg of humus, add about 50 grams of phosphorus fertilizers and 25 grams of potassium fertilizers. After which a little earth is added and filled with water in a volume of 35 - 45 liters.

5.) Simultaneously with preparing the site, the seedlings are placed in water for two days.

6.) Planting a seedling, the roots of which are covered with loose soil. Then water with 35 liters of water. To better conserve moisture, you can sprinkle dry grass near the planting site.

To start a business, especially from scratch, an ordinary person is looking for opportunities with minimal investment. The most successful options at first glance are growing vegetables, berries, fruits and, of course, nuts. Some areas of Ukraine and Russia are covered with walnut orchards, and people earn a decent income from them. But this type of business, like everyone else, has its pros and cons.

Growing walnuts as a business: where to start?

Obviously, to organize a nut business you need to get a substantial plot of land. The legislation of Ukraine, for example, provides for the provision of each citizen with 2 hectares of land for running a personal peasant farm. Although it seems to be free, the paperwork costs a tidy sum. Moreover, it is almost impossible to obtain a fertile plot of land: the best lands have already been distributed or leased. Although of course there are options in remote areas, to do this you must at least have your own transport. Russian legislation also allows those who wish to receive land, especially if the family has many children.

Having firmly decided to implement your plans, you can still overcome bureaucratic obstacles and receive land or lease it. The second stage is planting the garden. There are two ways: buy seedlings or grow trees from fruits - nuts. You should initially decide on the variety: it is best if the fruits are large, thin-barked and the trees themselves are high-yielding.

If you plant “wild” varieties, the nut orchard can bear fruit for up to one hundred to three hundred years, but the yield will be low, and the hard nuts are very difficult to shell. It is much more profitable to initially take care of purchasing high-quality planting material. Modern walnut varieties have a lot of positive characteristics, but have a drawback: with intensive yields, the garden will bear fruit for just over 50 years.

The nut is a source of beneficial microelements, organic fats, and a real storehouse of vitamins. It is for this reason that the walnut tree literally kills the earth, nothing grows under it and after its removal the earth loses its fertile properties. You should take this fact into account and regularly apply organic fertilizers to your fruit-bearing garden.

However, this is perhaps the only difficulty in caring for a garden (although many owners don’t even do this). Walnuts grow quite quickly, they are powerful trees, not susceptible to disease, resistant to severe frosts (there are frost-resistant varieties that can withstand temperatures of -30°C). Any soil is suitable for them, although of course the yield will depend on the percentage of humus.

Even though the first harvests can be seen in the 4-5th year of a tree’s life, you will still need to wait 10-15 years for a decent yield, depending on the chosen variety.

How profitable is it to grow walnuts?

It should be noted that the benefits in the nut business are decent. Many modern tree varieties produce their first harvest 5-7 years after planting. Initial volumes are 2.5-3 c/ha, which gradually increase and upon reaching the age of 20 years of the garden reach 30-40, sometimes even 50 c/ha. If we discard the 49% shell content, what remains is the net kernel weight at industrial yield levels of approximately 15-20 c/ha.

At the current price of $5-8 per kg, we get revenue per hectare from $7500-10000 to $12000-16000. In addition, shells and internal partitions are also sold, and this is some kind of money that can be spent on transport and other expenses. With just a couple of hectares of a walnut orchard, you can earn from 15 to 32 thousand dollars per season. The costs of paperwork, storage and processing of the crop seem simply trivial.

Over 30 years of full fruiting, such a nut orchard can bring in revenue of 450-960 thousand dollars. It seems to me that this is a very decent pension, if even at the age of thirty you take care of the future by planting walnut seedlings on the received plot.

Pros and cons of the nut business

• Low initial costs. Renting land or obtaining it for farming is relatively inexpensive. The highest planting density does not exceed 420 seedlings per hectare. At a price of $2.5 per seedling, the cost per hectare of plantings will be no more than $1,050. If trees are planted from fruits, then the costs will become trivial.
• Simplicity of agricultural technology. The garden requires minimal care, seedlings are easily accepted and actively grow.
• High demand for finished products: walnuts are purchased in large volumes by wholesalers.
• Easy to store crops. Nuts are not afraid of negative temperatures. Any dry place is suitable for storing them; they do not deteriorate even after long-term storage.
• Low level of competition. Today, few entrepreneurs are engaged in planting and growing walnuts.

But there are still disadvantages:

• Long waiting period for first profit.
• Lack of money for initial investments among ordinary people. After all, not everyone can invest two or three thousand dollars and wait several years for results.
• The need for cargo equipment and storage space. If there is no spacious premises, you will have to build one, and hire or purchase transport. These are associated capital costs. But with the first harvests they pay for themselves, so even here they are acceptable.

This type of income is very suitable for those who have small savings. It is much more profitable to make an investment in your promising business than to take it to the bank, where the accruing interest will be gobbled up by inflation.

By creating such a nut business, you can get a good source of main income that has great prospects. At first, having worked independently, it is quite possible to pay for the work of hired workers in the future, freeing up for other activities or even arranging for yourself an “early retirement”.

The Ideal walnut, bred in the middle of the last century, became one of the first Soviet varieties of this crop. Huge harvests amounting to hundreds of kilograms were collected from walnut trees traditionally cultivated in the southern regions. But the varieties available to gardeners were very heat-loving, tall, and grew for a long time before reaching fruiting time. To expand the walnut growing area, simplify agricultural technology and speed up harvesting, new varieties were needed.

Scientists from the Uzbek SSR successfully completed this task in 1947. In Fergana, breeders managed to obtain hardy, early-ripening plants with high yields and excellent quality of ripe nuts. Created by S.S. Kalmykov walnut variety The ideal for many gardeners is really close to perfection.

Description of the walnut variety Ideal

Ideal differs from most southern varieties in its high precocity, short stature and increased frost resistance.

On average, mature trees reach only 4–5 meters in height, which is 1.5–2 times less than other varieties. The first ovaries on still young plants appear already 2–3 years after planting, and the Ideal walnut reaches a stable yield by 5–7 years.

As befits a walnut, the bark on the standard part of the trees has a pronounced grayish-brown tint. Skeletal branches and fruiting shoots are covered with brown bark, and young growth is green in color with a distinct bluish tint. The leaves of this valuable garden crop are large, dense, dissected into several unpaired, oval-pointed parts.

The first flowering of Ideal walnut seedlings occurs in the second or third year. In the same season, after the greenish-white small flowers collected in racemes are pollinated by the wind, the first ovaries form on the branches.

The peculiarity of the crop is dioecious flowers and the presence of a second wave of flowering, which in good years helps to obtain two harvests of excellent nuts at once.

The reappearance of flower racemes, according to the description of the Ideal walnut variety, begins 7–15 days after the first, most massive wave and does not end until autumn. If delicate flower buds are damaged by frost in the spring, the gardener does not have to worry about the harvest. Not as plentiful, but it will definitely be there.

The ripening of large, oval fruits, covered with a dense green shell, begins in September and lasts until the end of October. The average weight of an Ideal walnut is 8–11 grams. The shell is a light beige color and quite thin. After drying, it easily splits, releasing a kernel with excellent taste, high protein and fat content. During a season, you can get up to 100–120 kg of selected nuts from a large tree.

The advantages of the variety include:

• early entry into the fruiting season;
• decent yield;
• compact dimensions;
• frost resistance, allowing you to withstand winter temperatures of up to 30–35 °C without serious losses.

Ideally no special soil mixtures are needed. Plants acclimatize well and grow in soil with a high content of salts and acids.

The only limitation that needs to be taken into account when transferring a seedling to the ground is the proximity of groundwater. They are extremely undesirable for a walnut tree with a taproot structure.

Features of planting and growing walnuts of the Ideal variety

Ideal walnuts are propagated by seeds and grafted seedlings with a life span of 1–2 years. The second method is preferable, since seedlings, although more unpretentious and hardy, do not always retain their parental traits, especially if there was the possibility of cross-pollination from a plant of a different variety.

If a walnut seedling is grown on the site, it should be grafted with a varietal cutting. Kidney grafting is less reliable due to the risk of freezing.

For sowing, healthy nuts are selected, which are pre-stratified for 30–45 days, and then, in spring or early autumn, transferred to prepared soil. Young trees are also planted in spring or autumn, a month before the probable cold weather arrives. In the first year of life, the Ideal walnut grows very reluctantly, but after wintering it very actively increases in growth, reaching 1–1.3 meters in height by autumn.

For planting, choose a sunny area where the tree will not be disturbed by the crowns of other crops. A spreading tree already from the first year needs shaping, which is carried out in such a way that:

• each branch of the crown had enough sun;
• the entire crown was ventilated;
• pollination of flower clusters was not interfered with by castings and shoots growing inwards.

With proper care, the Ideal walnut produces high yields and a magnificent appearance for 40 to 50 years. This is somewhat less than that of its southern counterparts, but this is the price the variety pays for its compactness and the ability to grow even in the Black Earth Region, the Volga region and central Russia.

Comparison of Ideal variety nut with other varieties - video