The walnut tree is considered almost sacred across the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. Along with other Eastern fruits, such as olives, dates, grapes and pomegranates, an entire mythology exists around the walnut tree. Indeed, since time immemorial, people have studied the walnut in Iran. In our national libraries, one can find old agronomy manuscripts explaining for instance how walnut trees should be planted during a full-moon, in order to remain short hut full-branched and fruit-filled. If planted during the new moon, it will grow tall and produce valuable timber. The walnut tree was very popular among both the rich and the poor in Iran. The rich used its timber for furniture, as a symbol of wealth, and planted walnut trees on the edges of their lands to define their borders. Since then, the tree has become the hallmark of the beauty of Persian gardens. The poor planted walnut trees for economic purposes. Because of the good quality of its single walnut tree could support an entire family. It was therefore common practice in certain regions to plant a walnut tree with the arrival of a new horn. By the time the child reached marriageable age, the tree would have grown enough to be a source of income for the new family.

The walnut tree comes originally from the Iranian plateau. The Greeks used to call the walnut "Persico", which is the Greek word for "Persia", hence the name "Persian" given to this tree. In Iran it is grown in the valleys of mountain ranges in high altitude areas. There is a profusion of walnut trees in areas ranging from Tabriz to Mashad across the north of the country, and down to Isfahan, Shiraz and Kerman in the center. According to official data, in 1995 walnut trees covered 32,000 hectares of plantations, producing some 103,000 tones of nuts. These income- generating trees represent a very good investment for farmers as it is considered that a full-grown walnut tree yields about 6,000 nuts annually, generating an income of 300,000 rials. Hence, a family which owns

Ten trees can benefit from an additional income of 3,000,000 rials (US$1,000). There is a unique range of walnut varieties in Iran, making the country a virtual genetic treasure of walnut species. There exists, however, a serious challenge to would-be walnut producers, as the seedlings that are produced from a given mother tree exhibit a very high variability in terms of both timbers and nuts. Just as a child does not necessarily resemble his or her parents, the walnut tree does not necessarily have the same characteristics as its parents. Growing these trees, therefore, becomes a very tricky business when a farmer wants to control the quality of the produce. Hence, there was a real need for scientific research in order to determine the best walnut varieties suitable to the different agronomic areas of Iran, and, to find techniques to reproduce those selected trees from one generation to the other. Such a program was introduced following the Ministry of Agriculture’s request in 1990 and carried out by FAO and UNDP. FAO, as the implementing agency, helped by providing materials and fielded international experts to Iran, and UNDP, as the financing body, provided administrative support and US$255,000 in funds. With the selection of Persian walnut species, farmers will he able to produce seven to eight tones of high-quality nuts per hectare instead of only three tones as before. This promising future will bring additional income to farmers involved in producing walnuts and should lead to good export prospects for Iran in a world, which consumes increasing amounts of walnuts every year. Last year, European countries alone imported up to 80,000 tones of walnuts. The outcome will also help protect the environment as prospects for exports will induce more and more farmers and private entrepreneurs to produce walnuts from the trees selected in the project. Planting new walnut trees will also become an effective part of reforesting the Zagros mountain range and thus will contribute to protecting the environment.

Keshavarz Special Issue 1998-99