CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Nut crops such as walnut (juglas Nigra) and pecans (carya illinoenosis) have potential for small parts of Virginia. Growing and handling are specialized, and while marketing is hands oriented, demand can be good For fresh high quality nuts used both for eating out of hands and for cooking purposes (Carlson Jones 1940) there are many different edible net species found and gathered in the wild such as hickory (Shell Dark – Shag Dark, Carya sp) chest nut (Juglan Cineralal) is another once plentiful native nut but because of chest nut Blight Diseases, it is now a rare found in the woods (Cornel Disnmic Johnson 1970)
English walnut also called (Carpathan Peisan Walnut, Juglaus regia) almond ( prunus amygida cus ) and nazdnut (corylvs avellena) represent significant activated and nut production, yet they are limited to specific adaptive areas. California the leading producer of English walnut as well as almonds, while Oregon growers produce 95% of all hazel/nuts (lmore in 1977). In the east, hazelnut are also retrend to as fiibrerts and there are several wild species found with a slumbly habits of growth. Nut production on Eastern filberts is variable and highly affected by weather conditions in the winter typically flowers (cat kins) open in late winter to yearly spring and thought frost tolerant, they can be damaged by hand freezing weather (Hamel, Dictoskey 1975)
Commercially sputhern pecan (also known as paper sheel type) is the most important nut crop for the Eastern US, followed by wild gathered natives black walnuts the pecan industry is centered in the south and south easts, with Creogia a leading state and in the Sothern plans, many acres are raised in Texas and okahlahoma and even as tarwest as new Mexico (Harloro , , Harrar, Harden white 1996) variety development for southern Pecans has been extensive and they are renow for their large size and very thin shells however as a starting points, good site selection is imperative for success one must have an understanding of the frost potential and season growing length as related to the flowering and fruiting characteristics of the chosen variety. (Moerman 1998) Native black walnut are found in most part of the state there are a number of improved black walnut varieties selection from the wild and from limited breeding programes. In general, timber characteristics (fester growth) has been the focus of these programs dual use potential for black walnut varieties for timber and as a high quality net crop is an important characteristics.
There are several outstanding black walnut varieties known for their nut qualities, including sparrow’s Emma Rupert “Hay” and Lawik corp the latter is often used as an Purdue University have developed a lene of black walnut known for their faster growth for timber purpose as predictable nut bearing habits (Carlson Jones 1940). The Northern pecan is a native of the olio, Wabash and upper Mississippi inver basins and in recent years a number of outstanding selection have been made from the world, this Northern pecan is know for its high ,quality nut meats houch has more oil content and better flavor than the southern types, they do however have been much smaller units in comparison (country man et al 1985) while Native (Southern) pecan are not as common in Nigeria as in the Midwest may find adaptability in many parts of the states, including middle and southern Premont regions, Northern pecans are noted for their cold hardness, later flowering to avoid frost, and reduced nut maturely periods as compound to the southern pecan (Chenoweth 1995 black walnut) the Northern pecan selection have fair to good nut size (through at best 50 – 60% of the southern pecan). In addition the widow for grafting is narrow, and the propagator needs to have on hand the scion (top) wood of the selected variety colour the sap begins to flow. Recently several keger nurseries have begun wider propagation of northern pecan and black walnut and certain named varieties are now available as poilted and pre grafter tries. (Fowels 1965) The objective of the work was to evaluate the chemical composition of walnut (C)
