The Economic Importance of the Walnut

The walnut, as a fruit crop, has multiple economic importance. The walnut fruit is used in human nutrition, its wood is highly valued in the wood processing industry, while the fruit and leaf are utilized in the chemical and medical industries.

A few walnuts during the day greatly reduce the risk of heart disease; their essence is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, etc.

The yield per body is around an average of 15 kilograms, with an alternative yield if production is based on seedlings propagated from walnut seeds. The latter are generative plants that grow spontaneously in nature and are mainly found in Kosovo.

When we talk about walnut cultivation, only the focus should be on drawn seedlings. Walnut growers with grafted seedlings will yield yields for 80 years, and these years exceed the cultivation of apple orchards by three times. The calculation for 1 hectare of walnut in a monoculture should be 116 plants and an average price of 6 Euros per kg of walnut kernel, and as a curiosity, within 60 years it will bring the owner a net profit of 0.5 million Euros.

It is calculated at 40 kilograms per year of shelled walnuts per body, which corresponds to 4,500 kg per hectare of shells. The pure kernel of the walnut kernel is half as easy when the shell is removed. Its value is expressed somewhere in money - 14,000 Euros, while production expenses reach 4,500 Euros per year. This means that for half a century, every year on one hectare of walnut trees, income of about 10,000.00 Euros is generated.

Walnuts do not require much water, and before harvest, 2-3 sprays of preparations are sufficient to make this tree suitable for cultivation in larger plantations with less labor force. Walnuts thrive more in alluvial soils around rivers.

The most well-known walnut region in Europe is near Grenoble in France, where there are about 6,000 hectares of walnut trees.

Walnuts are cultivated in all regions of the Balkans, and the peoples who lived there have paid special attention to them, so in the former Yugoslavia alone there were over 123 settlements whose names are related to the word "walnut." Walnut fruits are easy to store and transport.

Despite the importance given to walnuts and the suitable conditions for their cultivation, walnut production does not meet local needs. Walnuts are also highly scarce in the global market.

Walnut production is very low because walnuts in Kosovo still multiply by nut kernels, and such seedlings start bearing fruit very late, do not produce the desired quality fruit, and production often fails due to late spring frosts.