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nafex - [NAFEX] Rambling thoughts on Shellbarks, shagbarks

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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Rambling thoughts on Shellbarks, shagbarks
  • Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2006 11:23:33 -0500

At 11:01 PM 8/3/2006, Donna wrote:
There are some wild trees of both in our general area, and I can tell
you that the wild shagbarks are a LOT easier to crack than the wild
shellbarks.
My experience, as well, to a large degree. Typically, shagbark nuts have a much thinner shell than do most shellbarks. However, internal structure plays a significant role in crackability. Some individuals in both species have minimized internal ridges, diminishing the amount of nutmeat 'trapped' by these ridges, and increasing the % of intact halves and quarters obtained when cracking out the nuts. Some shellbarks, while having a thicker shell, will yield more and larger kernel pieces than the average shaglbark.
I've seen a couple of shagbarks that have shells thinner than many pecans - one's growing here on the farm - but internal shell structure is not good - prominent internal ridges that trap the nutmeat - so, even though they'd theoretically be easier to crack than one with a thicker shell, yield of intact nutmeats would be diminished - and would require quite a bit more work to pick out the tasty little morsels.
Also, my limited experience with these really-thin-shelled shagbarks has been that weevil infestation is a much greater problem than for those with thicker-shelled nuts. There's one grafted hickory selection here that I've not yet been able to ID definitively (two of these trees in the neighborhood, planted at least 35 years ago) - large(>8gm) shagbark type nut(may be a hybrid with bitternut) with exceedingly thin shell and large nutmeat(somewhat astringent, hence my suspicion of bitternut in its heritage) that cracks out easily, yielding intact halves - but most years, 85% or more of the nuts are weevil-infested.
Fred (Mr. Hick'ry) Blankenship has indicated to me, on more than one occasion, that he thinks the "J.Yoder #1" shagbark hickory 'knows' when its nuts are weevil-infested, and aborts them. He's rarely, if ever, found a full-sized weevil-infested nut under a Yoder tree.
I've seen reports alleging that the 'Lindauer' shellbark is weevil-resistant.

I don't think anyone has found any shellbarks that crack out as
well as most shagbarks, at least in terms of % of kernal to shell.
You're probably right on that count - shellbarks, with their thicker shell, probably do crack out with a lower % kernel - but if it's a big nut, you can pile up a larger quantity of nutmeats faster. With some of the better shellbarks, that kernel comes out of there like a big ol' cookie!
Most of the good shagbarks have kernel/shell ratios in excess of 40%, but most of the numbers I've seen thrown out for shellbarks are in the 30+% range.
Fred B. has recently introduced a shellbark selection, 'Simpson #1', that looks very promising - it's actually a fairly small nut, as shellbarks go, but internal structure is great - cracks out intact halves, and it has a good flavor.

I've got so many seedling pecans growing that I'm not at a loss for suitable rootstocks. Seedlings of the "Major" pecan are the preferred understock for pecans and hickories in this area. Some hickory selections are reputed to really 'like' pecan - they grow more vigorously, and perhaps produce a slightly larger nut on pecan; pecans here(early August) are currently in a second or third flush of growth for the season, whereas hickories had set their terminal buds and stopped all vegetative growth as of early July. It may be that pecan understock can 'push' hickory a little bit.
I've received some conflicting reports on some points with regard to compatibilities. I've had several people in the KNGA tell me that the 'Cody Cox' shagbark will not graft to pecan, but Gerald Gardner, in MO says it does just fine on pecan for him.

I've got one tree here on the farm that I suspect is a hybrid of shagbark and mockernut - bark looks most like mockernut, with slight tendency for thin plates to exfoliate, as you get higher up the trunk. Leaves are most like shagbark. Nuts are the shape and size of the nearby mockernuts, but are white, instead of brown. Just an average nut, as shagbarks go, but a great nut compared to mockernut. Guy Sternberg also has one in IL that he thinks is a shagXmockernut hybrid, but Fred is skeptical, as the two species are of differing chromosome numbers - mockernut is a tetraploid, shagbark is diploid.

Lucky







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