30% reduction in walnut production in South Khorasan
The head of the Agricultural Jihad of South Khorasan said: out of 474 hectares of walnut orchards in this province, 450 hectares are fertile and the rest are seedlings.
Gholamreza Haderbadi, said: it is predicted that more than 2 tons of walnuts will be harvested from each hectare of walnut cultivation area, on average, and a total of 900 tons of walnuts this year.
He added: Production of this product has decreased by 30% compared to last year, which was 1,350 tons. The head of the South Khorasan Agricultural Jihad continued: The reason for the decrease in walnut production is the continuation of the drought phenomenon and the complications caused by this phenomenon, such as the reduction of water in canals and springs.
Haderbadi said: the harvest of walnuts in South Khorasan starts from the end of September and continues until the end of October.
He said: The most important walnut cultivars are native to the province and are known as paper bark and embroidery. Of course, there are also clustered walnuts in new orchards.
The head of South Khorasan Agricultural Jihad stated: Birjand and Sarayan counties have the highest area under walnut cultivation and production in the province.
He added: In South Khorasan, the spread of walnut trees is concentrated in mountainous slopes and high places.
The head of the Agricultural Jihad of South Khorasan emphasized: The existence of old and old walnut trees in different parts of the province shows the historical antiquity of its planting and proves the existence of drought-resistant genotypes.
Hadrabadi stated: Among the secondary effects of drought are the outbreak of wood-eating pests and their attack on weakened walnut trees.
He publicly combated wood-eating pests through mobilizing gardeners and physically collecting pests, using pheromone and optical traps, removing dried trees and removing contaminated debris using shredders, holding workshops and training classes to teach integrated control training. With wood-eating pests to gardeners, the implementation of pruning and feeding programs as a model for repairing canals, implementing projects to cover canals and water storage ponds and implementing appropriate watershed management projects to control surface water are among the measures taken by the Jihad Agricultural Organization to reduce drought damage.
The head of the Agricultural Jihad of South Khorasan, regarding the way of harvesting walnuts, said to the gardeners of the province: when harvesting walnuts, its skin should be brown to earthy and its skin should be easily separated from walnuts.
Hader Badi added: In the traditional method of harvesting walnuts, the branches of the tree had to be hit with a long stick, which in addition to being very laborious and time consuming, would damage the tree and the walnut crop and destroy the fruits of future years. But since the height of the walnut tree is high; It is recommended that mechanized and principled harvesting be done by a tractor using a lift.
Regarding the nutritional and medicinal value of walnuts, he added: Walnuts are one of the cold fruit trees with high nutritional value, whose kernel contains 60 to 75% fat, most of which are unsaturated fatty acids.
The head of the Agricultural Jihad of South Khorasan added: Vitamins, minerals and mineral elements needed by the body and various essential amino acids are found in walnut kernels.
Consumption of walnut kernel strengthens memory, strengthens bones and prevents heart disease, Parkinson’s and some cancers, said Hadrabadi.
He said that the production of walnuts in Iran has a long history, noting that Iran is currently one of the major producers of walnuts in the world and according to the 2005 statistics of the FAO, Iran with an annual production of 150,000 tons of walnuts, the fourth It is the world’s producer, accounting for 10% of world production.