“…THOSE WHO WORK ON EARTH ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD, IF HE EVER HAD A CHOSEN PEOPLE, IN WHOSE CHESTS HE HAS MADE THE SPECIFIC DEPOSITS OF THE SUBSTANTIAL AND GENUINE VIRTUES. IT IS THE FOCUS IN WHICH TO KEEP IT ALIVE SACRED FIRE THAT OTHERWISE COULD NOT ESCAPE FROM THE EARTH.” Thomas Jefferson, 1789

Ethnoagriculture

According to the book “The History of Agriculture in Colorado” the primitive plows used to break the earth in the first agricultural settlements of Colorado (Valle de San Luis) were made of piñon wood for its greater resistance. The piñon was the life of our farming communities, and more than one of the first exploration parties in the Rocky Mountains, both Spanish and American, were saved from starvation thanks to the piñon and its nuts. The pinyon pine, pinyon nut, and human settlement in Colorado have a history dating back to the basket maker culture under the Pecos classification system. Piñon ecosystems have had subsistence, cultural, spiritual, economic, aesthetic, and medicinal value to Native American peoples for centuries and continue to be widely studied in their past and present areas. Among ethnobotanists and archaeologists, there is consensus that early human settlement in Colorado resulted from the pine nut providing a life-sustaining source of winter protein when game animals were scarce, allowing man to build the first societies (Cliff Dwellings) in Colorado.

Eastern agriculture outperforms Western agriculture

Currently, more than 80% of the $49 million worth of pine nuts consumed in the US market is IMPORTED FROM CHINA, with no benefit to Western landowners. “We have thousands of American households buying and eating pine nuts, not knowing their true Chinese origin.” Pine nuts (pine nuts) provide a significant source of protein, at levels surpassing even walnuts and walnuts, with significant amounts of vitamin A, riboflavin, thiamin and niacin, “really unrivaled in the nut world “. Additionally, piñon trees naturally function as a “great carbon sink” for the planet by removing carbon. “Certainly, as consumers realize they are unknowingly getting more protein by eating ‘cloned beef protein,’ the idea of ​​adding a wild, natural protein to their diet, such as that found in Piñon Nut’s, is attractive to people concerned about health and the environment. “.

This project involves ‘experimental dryland agriculture’ in the creation of a pine nut breeding program. Pinyon pine improvement programs may involve four main steps: 1) Selection of superior trees (ie, “plus trees”) from natural stands; 2) Graft these superior plus trees into orchards to produce genetically improved seeds (nuts); 3) Field trials of these plus trees to identify the best trees and improve orchard seed (cone and nut size) by removing inferior trees; and 4) continuous improvement and development of even better varieties through the crossing of the best trees. It is known that the size of the pine nut crop is strongly influenced by the environment and that pests and health are important. For example, tip moth activity depresses pinyon cone production, as do dry weather and high temperatures, regardless of tree genetics. And tree size, a major determinant of cone-growing potential, is greatly influenced by soil type, climate, pest history, competition, etc. There are so many factors that affect the ‘phenotype’, what you see, that the only way to determine the ‘genotype’ characteristics of a tree is to grow offspring from its seeds in progeny tests.

Arid zone agriculture in relation to pinion pine

“As an area of ​​research and development, dryland agriculture, or desert agriculture, includes studies of how to increase the agricultural productivity of land dominated by a lack of fresh water, an abundance of heat and sunlight, and generally one or more of Extreme winter cold, short rainy season, saline soil or water, strong dry winds, poor soil structure, overgrazing, limited technological development, poverty…” Wikipedia…

Two basic approaches to solutions are

o see given environmental and socio-economic characteristics as negative obstacles to be overcome

o see as many of them as possible as positive resources to be used

Vision of the future – Colorado pine nut orchards?

Looking to the future, it is possible to see a growing number of farmers and landowners throughout the Southwest evaluating the benefits of now managing their own arid, unprofitable Piñon forests as active “piñon nut orchards.” The developed practices of tree breeding, pollination and cultivation, already in use to improve crop yields in walnut, pecan and apple orchards, can be applied for economic benefit in a pine nut orchard. “A farmer can create a transplant or seedling seed orchard, or also enhance the productivity of native piñon trees already in the ground,” said Alan Peterson, who pioneered the research. And with pine nuts selling for over $15 a pound, this truly represents a new “Business Model for the Environment.”

“THE CULTIVATORS OF THE LAND ARE THE MOST VALUABLE CITIZENS. THEY ARE THE MOST VIGOROUS, THE MOST INDEPENDENT, THE VIRTUOUS, AND ARE BOUND TO THEIR COUNTRY, AND MARRIED TO ITS FREEDOM AND INTEREST, THEY BUY THE LASTING TIES. AS LONG AS THEY CAN FIND EMPLOYMENT IN THIS LINE, I WOULD NOT MAKE THEM SAILORS, CRAFTSMEN, OR ANYTHING ELSE…” Thomas Jefferson, 1785

Introduction to Pinon

Of approximately (14) species of nuts grown in the United States, the piñon remains to be grown.

The pinyon pine’s ancestor was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Flora, (a group of drought-resistant species), which beginning 60 million years ago, its host climate began to change from wet to dry.

Piñon (Pinus Edulis) grows slowly into a small, drought-resistant, fairly long-lived species native to the southwestern United States. Its common name is derived from the Spanish piñón and refers to the large seed of the pine (pino). Other common names are piñon colorado and stone pine. Existing forests, where Piñon is the main species, cover about 36 million acres combined in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, but drought and resulting attacks by the pine beetle and various pathogens have had a considerable effect on the forests. Piñon stands.

Piñon trees thrive in areas with annual rainfall from as little as 10″ a year to more than 22″ inches, and where temperatures exist from an extreme low of -35 degrees Celsius, all within as little as 90 rain-free days. frost per year. In its highest elevation range and northernmost latitude, native Piñon growth can be found in a variety of soil depths and textures, from rocky gravels to fine, compacted clays, and at elevations from 4,500 to 7,500 feet. altitude, with isolated specimens up to 9400 feet.

From research on the most desirable Piñon Orchard locations (i.e., low land values, good elevation + precipitation, existing high-producing native Piñon stands), it stands out that the rural communities that most needed any economic stimulus were found in the vicinity of those parameters. . Therefore, Piñon Orchards would have significant value from its establishment and nut harvest, especially in those areas currently considered unsuitable for traditional agricultural crops. It is hopeful that a small rural community is ‘branding’ itself around an increasing collection and consumption of piñon nuts, that is… by organizing a ‘Piñon Nut Festival’ theme, walnut staples Piñon (sweets, menu items, and the resulting improved facility, Piñon Orchards. Therefore, co-locating active Piñon cultivation in close proximity to rural areas in need of some economic stimulus may prove to be one of the benefits more exciting.

Economic benefits of increased production of pine nuts

Beneficial effects to a local economy unfold from a number of different channels: the sale of walnut crops would impact the economy directly, through purchases of goods and services locally, and indirectly, as those purchases in turn generate purchases intermediate goods and services from other, related sectors of the economy. In addition, these direct and indirect effects increase employment and income, improving the purchasing power of the economy in general, thus inducing greater spending on goods and services. This cycle continues until spending eventually seeps out of the local economy as a result of taxes, savings, or purchases of non-locally produced goods and services.

Barriers to Commercial Piñon Cultivation

o Complexities of water use, water rights, and water availability in Colorado and all of the western drylands.

o Pinion (seed) production is cyclical and good harvests can be produced in 2-7 year intervals, but the average harvest has occurred in 4.1 year intervals in a 58 year study.

o Slow growth rates in typical specimens, unless subjected to intensive cultivation or grafting practices.

o Existing limited knowledge on cross-pollination and nut size and improvement of nut yield of cultivated or native Piñon plantations in the United States.

o Limited knowledge or existing study on the success of grafting on pinyons or other stone pine species.
o Possibly the most drought-resistant traits of any nut-producing plant, increasingly important in a ‘global warming’ climate ‘onset’.

o More protein by weight than all nuts except cashew.

o Piñon is adaptable to the widest range of soil types.

o Piñon incurs little ‘spray’ damage from deer, elk, rabbits, and rodents throughout its range.

o Greater and better use of drylands than cattle ranching with protein output per acre. (Piñon nuts = 123% more efficient protein per acre than beef.)

o Little concern for diseases and insect herbivory.

Historically, nut-producing pines have had little academic focus as crop producers. In (1917) Dr. Robert T. Norris (NNGA) recognized the potential (and future) of pine nuts: “I presume that the extensive planting of pines for food purposes will have to wait until we have advanced to the point of putting other types of nut trees (walnuts, pecans, etc.) on good ground first. Pines will be employed for the drier slopes when the people of… a hundred years from now begin to complain about the high cost of living.”

… “No sentiment is more recognized in the family of farmers than that the few who can afford it should bear the risk and expense of all improvements and give the benefit freely to many in more restricted circumstances.” Thomas Jefferson, 1810