PECAN NUT: CHARACTERISTICS, TAXONOMY, HABITAT, USES, CARE - BIOLOGY - 2024

The pecan nut (Carya illinoinensis) is an arboreal species belonging to the Juglandaceae family. It is commonly known as Illinois nut, pecan, pecan, pecan, pecan, hickory, duchy nut, smooth walnut, hickory, purple walnut, among others.

It is a perennial, deciduous and long-lived tree that exceeds 30 m in height. It has alternate leaves that can be compound and odd-pinnate. The flowers are distributed in staminate and hanging catkins. Its fruit is a drupe called trima, which produces a nut of high nutritional value.

Leaves and nuts of Carya illinoinensis. Source: Brad Haire, University of Georgia, USA

The fruit production of this tree begins approximately 6 years after being planted and ends commercially 50 years later. Carya illinoinensis is the state tree of Texas, although its origin is the south-central area of ​​North America and is found in many countries of the American continent.

The hickory is generally used as an aperitif, especially for the preparation of cakes, desserts and ice cream. Some people use walnut shell for its astringent properties, and others use it in traditional Chinese medicine to treat tuberculosis.

characteristics

Appearance

-Species: Carya illinoinensis Koch (1869)

The basionym for this species is Juglans illinoinensis Wangenh. While some synonyms are the following: Carya digueti, Carya pecan, Carya tetraptera, Hicoria pecan, Hicorius oliviformis, Juglans illinoinensis, Juglans pecan.

Varieties

Some known American varieties of hickory are: Curtis, Frotscher, Moneymaker, Pabst, Schley, Stuart, among others.

Pecan nut. Source: wikimedia commons.

Habitat and distribution

The pecan nut is a species native to south-central North America. It is distributed in Mexico from southern Coahuila to Jalisco and Veracruz, and in northern America from Iowa, Illinois, eastern Indiana, western Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, western Tennessee, southern Georgia, Alabama, Missisippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Florida, and western New Mexico.

The pecan is a species cultivated in other parts of the world such as Australia, China, Israel, Mexico, Peru, Brazil and South Africa. It is found along riverbanks and floodplains.

This tree is a kind of temperate climate. It can grow from sea level to 800 m. It requires direct light, with maximum temperatures during the summer of 27 ° C, and minimum temperatures from 10 ° C to -1 ° C. For its part, annual precipitation should be between 760 and 2,010 mm.

Pecan tree nuts. Source: This image was originally posted to Flickr by Dobbi at https://flickr.com/photos//15025997. It was reviewed on 7 April 2007 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. 7 April 2007 Relicensed by the photographer for WikiMedia.

The optimum temperature for its photosynthetic activity is 27 ° C. It requires high water availability, but prefers well-drained, loamy, acid to alkaline soils. It is sensitive to salinity, and is tolerant to freezing to a minimum of -20 ° C without damage.

Applications

Medicinal

The leaves and bark are used as an astringent. Pecan nut is used as a remedy to treat tuberculosis by both Native Americans and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.

Likewise, the consumption of pecan significantly reduces total cholesterol and triglycerides.

Edible

Pecans have a tasty buttery flavor and are highly rich in lipids or unsaturated fats. They can be consumed fresh or used in confectionery, especially in sweets, cakes or pastries.

Its use extends to the preparation of cookies, even savory dishes. The walnuts in pieces are widely used to combine with ice cream. In the United States, pecan pie is very popular. Also, the natives used walnut oil to prepare the food of the season.

Pecan pie is very popular in America. Source: Jonathunder

Cosmetic

The edible oil that is extracted from the fruit is used to make cosmetics, as well as some medicines.

Building

Pecan wood is used to make furniture, cabinets, panels, pallets, veneers, floors, agricultural implements, and for fuel.

Abrasive or others

Nut shells are used as soil conditioners, mulches, mild abrasives in hand soaps, anti-slip paints and metallic enamels.

In addition, the husks can be ground into flour or used to fill plastic wood, adhesives and dynamite.

Biological

Recent studies have shown that walnut shell has potential as a phytoaccumulator of ions such as copper, manganese, and lead in aqueous solutions.

On the other hand, the polyphenolic extracts of the walnut shell function as an inhibitor of the growth of phytopathogenic fungi such as Pythium sp., Colletotrichum truncatum, Colletotrichum coccodes, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium solani, Fusarium sambucinum, and Rhizoctonia solani.

Likewise, walnut extract reduces the populations of the nematode Meloidogyne incognita in tomato roots, indicating that this extract can be used in agricultural production systems due to its innocuous and beneficial characteristics for the environment.

Care

Floor

Pecan nuts prefer soils with pH 5.5 - 6.0, of light to medium texture, although they can grow in slightly clayey soils.

Soils must be deep, not alkaline or saline. This tree is sensitive to calcium carbonate in the soil.

Weather

For good nut production, long, hot summers are required, even with warm nights. All this for the correct ripening of the fruit and optimal photosynthetic activity. Young trees do not resist below -20 ° C.

This tree thrives in both arid and humid climates, but is normally grown in subtropical climates to avoid the incidence of pests and diseases.

Irrigation

The greatest demand for water is during the months of December, January and February. In young trees, 38 to 57 L of water should be applied per plant per day.

Likewise, it is important to take care of the quality of irrigation water, since pecan is sensitive to the presence of more than 1,000 parts per million of total salts, 300 parts per million of chlorides, and more than 0.5 parts per million of boron.

The presence of these elements can cause burns on the leaves and defoliation, mainly in the summer time.

fertilizer

It is recommended not to apply fertilization at the time of transplanting to the field, unless there are very poor nitrogen conditions.

In adult or mature plantations, the need for fertilizer should be determined according to a foliar analysis.

The optimal levels of some nutrients present in pecan are: nitrogen 2.5 - 3%, phosphorus 0.12 - 0.30%, potassium 0.75 - 1.50%, sulfur 0.15 - 0.25%, calcium 0.70 - 2.50%, and magnesium 0.30 - 0.70%.

The pecan shell has astringent properties. Source: pixabay.com

References

1. Cepeda-Siller, M., García-Calvario, JM, Hernández-Juárez, A., Ochoa-Fuentes, Y., Garrido-Cruz, F., Cerna-Chávez, E., Dávila-Medina, M. 2018. Toxicity of extracts of Carya illinoinensis (Fagales: Junglandaceae) against Meloidogyne incognita (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae) in tomato. Ecosystems and agricultural resources 5 (13): 143-148.
2. Lim, TK 2012. Carya illinoinensis. In: Edible medicinal and non-medicinal plants: volume 3, Fruits. Springer. London. P. 51-57. Taken from: books.google.co.ve
3. Tropics. 2019. Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch. Taken from: tropicos.org
4. Flora of North America. 2019. Carya illinoinensis (Wangenheim) K. Koch. Taken from: efloras.org
5. Bennadji, Z., Alfonso, M. Fact sheet of the pecan Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch. National Institute of Agricultural Research of Uruguay. p. 19-23. Taken from: ainfo.inia.uy
6. Infojardín. 2019. Carya illinoinensis. Taken from: articulos.infojardin.com
7. Reyes, M., Lavín, A. 2019. Pecano (Carya illinoinensis Koch.). Taken from: library.inia.cl