Heskett estimates that for each row of trees, he sacrificed two rows of corn and five rows of soybeans. Typical yields for soybeans on this field are around 50 bushels per acre. This year’s Round-Up Ready soybeans are drilled at 10-inch spacings. Corn planted at 30-inch spacing averages about 150 bushels per acre. Each row is five feet wide, making the total area planted to trees about 3 acres, or 10% of the 30 acres in the alley cropping practice.Ĭorn and soybean rotations have been planted in the alleys using minimum tillage with a no-till drill and close spacing. This results in approximately 43 trees per row or about 750 total trees. Some of these grafted seedling cultivars are producing nuts in less than 5 years. The graft is sealed with bee’s wax or paraffin and potted so that only the scionwood is above the ground. This technique uses a cleft graft to attach scionwood from the known cultivars to a seedling rootstock. Heskett uses a bench grafting technique on his black walnut seedlings. Six more rows of black walnut planted in 1997 included ‘Thatcher’, ‘Sparrow’, ‘Rowher’, ‘Kwik Crop’, ‘Football’, and ‘Emma K.’ Beginning with the first row of black walnut planted in 1995, the cultivars are ‘Surprise’, ‘Sparks 127', ‘Ohio’, ‘Ogden’, ‘Leander Hay’, and ‘Cranz’. Each row of black walnut has different grafted cultivars. In 1995, Heskett planted three more rows of pecans and six rows of grafted black walnut trees. Currently he has 30 acres converted.Ĭonversion began with a single row of pecan in 1993, followed by another row in 1994. By using a unique grafting method and spacing, Ron has developed a practice that will reduce costs and increase returns over the long run.īeginning in 1993, Ron began converting 40 acres of highly productive cropland into an alley cropping practice, combining pecans and black walnuts with corn and soybeans. Ron Heskett of Nemeha, Nebraska may have found a way to quiet any critics. However, two concerns about using black walnut in an agroforestry practice are that it, 1) takes too long to generate income, and 2) costs too much to establish the trees. An Economic Analysis of Black Walnut Alley Cropping in Southeastern Nebraskaīlack walnut is often promoted for alley cropping practices because of the income potential from nut crops and high quality lumber.
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