Sharp County record., 1918-01-25
MAKE YOUR SHADE
TREES PECAN TREES
i his Is the Advice Given To Arkansas
People BY J. S. Knox, Of the
Extension Division.

Then you will have shade IN summer
and a good supply of pecans for the
winter. This is the advice given to
Arkansas people by J. s. Knox, hor-
,iculturist for the Agricultural Exten-
sion Division of the University OF
Arkansas, who says:
MANY Of the farm homes over Ar
KANSAS that do not have shade trees
,ould be made far more attractive by
he planting OF several pecan trees
lbout the premises, Not only do the
rees make excellent shade trees, but
hey will also furnish an abundance
IF delicious nuts, which, according to
iifferent authorities, are the richest
n food value of all the nut fruits.
The writer has been very favorably
impressed with the possibility for Pc
2an growing in this State because OF
he fact that in many sections thou
sands of Wild pecan trees seem to
thrive and bear crops Of nuts. The
wild species is, however, so far infe-
rior to the cultivated varieties that
it does not pay to plant them for
commercial purposes.
Pecan Trees Demand Fertile Soil.
The soil best suited to pecan cul-
lure seems to be the rich bottom lands
where the drainage is good, but as
Is the case with other fruits, 1t can
be grown on great diversity Of soils,
provided the soil be made fairly fer.
tile. Trees have been seen growing
on soils that were far from the rich
est in fertility, but as a rule trees
planted on such soils make a very
slow growth, It will pay the grower,
therefore, to see that the soil is put
in good shape, so far as fertility and
cultivation are concerned, before the
trees are planted.
Plant Trees Three TO Four Years Old.
It lie generally considered best to
plant trees from three to four years
old, and some nurserymen would plant
them even fve to seven years old. II
seems, however that for trees so
large, damage done to the root sys.
tenn in digging would be hard to over
come It makes little difference
where trees are bought, so long as
they are we'll grown trees that are
true 10 name, This means, Of course,
that they should be secured from a
reliable nureeryman.
Do Not Plant Pecan seed.
It is not considered advisable for
the amateur to try to bud or graft
his own trees, because pecan trees are
more difficult to propagate than the
average fruit tree. One should not
plant pecan seed and expect the trees
which they produce to bear nuts like
the ones planted. At the South Car.
olina Experiment Station about 50
nuts from a single pecan tree were
planted and not one OF the trees
grown from these nuts bear fruit like
the original tree. As rule the seed.
ing trees are far inferior to the
budded or grated ones.
How TO Plant Pecan Trees.
The distance apart to plant the
trees depends upon the kind Of soil
upon which they are to be grown. On
the thinner soils from As to 80 feet
apart each way may not be too close,
but on the rich lands they should not
be planted closer than 65 to 10 feet
each way, II planted 65 feet each
way It will require only about ten
trees to plant an acre. or twelve trees
II planted 60 feet apart, Since there
are only few trees for each acre.
one should use every care to see that
the trees are planted just right Each
tree that dies means one.tenth Of an
acre to plant over
How to Care for Pecan Trees.
Pecan orchards should be kept cul.
tivated, and for the first few years OF
their growth the orchard may be In.
tercropped, using truck crops or any
OF the farm crops that do not inter.
rere with the growth Of the trees. II
should be remembered, however, that
It does not pay to get closer than
four to Ave feet Of the young trees
with an intercrop, and as the trees
grow older the distance must be in.
creased from the trees The question
Ia often asked how old pecan trees
are before they begin to bear, Hero
no definite answer can be made but
usually q few nuts are borne IN from
for to Ave years after the trees arc
planted provided trees are three To
four years old when they are set, I
have known trees to reach an age Of
ten 10 twelve years before beeInnins