“… THOSE WHO WORK ON EARTH ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD, IF HE EVER HAD A CHOSEN PEOPLE, IN WHOSE BREASTS HE HAS MADE THE SPECIFIC DEPOSITS OF THE SUBSTANTIAL AND AUTHENTIC VIRTUE. IT IS THE FOCUS ON WHICH HE KEEP IT ALIVE. SACRED FIRE THAT OTHERWISE COULD NOT ESCAPE FROM 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 (San Luis Valley) were made of pine nut wood for its greater resistance. The pine nut was the lifeblood 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 pine nut and its nuts. The pinion pine, pine nut, and human settlement in Colorado have a history that dates back to basket-maker culture under the Pecos classification system. Piñón 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 area (s). Among ethnobotanists and archaeologists, there is consensus that the first human settlements in Colorado were the result of the pine nut providing a source of winter protein, which supported life when game was scarce, allowing man to build the first societies (Cliff Dwellings) in Colorado.

Farming from the East outperforms western agriculture

Currently, more than 80% of the $ 49 million in pine nuts consumed in the US market is IMPORTED FROM CHINA, with no benefit to Western landowners. “We have thousands of American households who buy and eat pine nuts, not knowing their true Chinese origin.” Pine nuts (pine nuts) provide a significant source of protein, at levels exceeding even walnuts and walnuts, with significant amounts of vitamin A, riboflavin, thiamine and niacin, “they really have no dietary rival in the world of walnuts”. Additionally, pinion trees naturally function as a “great carbon sink” for the planet by removing carbon. “Certainly, as consumers realize they are unknowingly getting more protein from eating ‘cloned beef protein,’ the idea of ​​adding a wild, natural protein to their diet, like the one 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. Stone 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 in orchards to produce genetically improved seeds (nuts); 3) Field tests of these plus trees to identify the best trees and improve the orchard seed (cone and nut size) by removing the lower 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 pinion cone production, as does dry weather and high temperatures, regardless of tree genetics. And tree size, an important determinant of cone growing potential, is heavily influenced by soil type, climate, pest history, competition, etc. There are so many factors that affect the ‘phenotype’, 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, arid zone agriculture, or desert agriculture, includes studies on how to increase the agricultural productivity of lands 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 the environmental and socio-economic characteristics given as negative obstacles to be overcome

or 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 and unprofitable Piñon forests as active “pine nut orchards.” Developed tree breeding, pollination and cultivation practices, which are already in use to improve crop yields in walnut, walnut and apple orchards, can be applied for economic benefits in a pine nut orchard. “A farmer can create a transplant or seedling seed garden, or also improve the productivity of native pine nut trees already on the ground,” said Alan Peterson, who is a pioneer in the research. And with pine nuts selling for over $ 15 a pound, this truly represents a new “Business Model for the Environment.”

“THE GROWERS OF THE EARTH ARE THE MOST VALUABLE CITIZENS. THEY ARE THE MOST VIGOROUS, THE MOST INDEPENDENT, THE VIRTUOUS, AND THEY ARE TIED TO THEIR COUNTRY, AND MARRIED TO THEIR FREEDOM AND INTEREST, THEY BUY THE MOST DURABLE LINKS. LONGER LASTING BONYDS. MORE DURABLE BONYDS FIND EMPLOYMENT IN THIS LINE, I WOULD NOT MAKE THEM SAILORS, CRAFTSMEN OR ANYTHING ELSE … “Thomas Jefferson, 1785

Introduction to the Pinion

Of approximately (14) species of walnut grown in the United States, the pine nut remains to be cultivated.

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

The pine nut (Pinus Edulis) grows slowly to a small, drought-resistant, and 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 (pine). Other common names are red pine 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 from the pine beetle and various pathogens have had a considerable effect on the Pinon stands.

Piñón trees thrive in areas with annual rainfall ranging from a low of 10 “annually to over 22” inches, and where temperatures exist from an extreme low of -35 degrees Celsius, all within as little as 90 frost-free days at anus. At its highest elevation range and northernmost latitude, Piñon’s native growth can be found in a variety of depths and soil textures, from rocky gravels to fine, compacted clays, and at elevations of 4,500 to 7,500 feet above sea level. height, with isolated specimens up to 9400 feet.

From the investigation of Piñon Orchard’s most desirable locations (i.e. low land values, good elevation + rainfall, existing high-producing native Piñon stands), it stands out that the rural communities most in need of any economic stimulus were found in the proximity of those parameters. . Therefore, Piñon Orchards would have significant value from its establishment and nut harvest, especially in those areas that are currently considered unsuitable for traditional agricultural crops. It is hopeful that a small rural community is ‘branding’ itself around a growing collection and consumption of pine nuts, that is … by organizing a theme of the ‘Festival of the pine nuts’, the staple products of the Piñon nut (sweets, menu items and the resulting improved establishment, Piñon Orchards Therefore, the co-location of active Piñon cultivation in proximity to rural areas that need some economic stimulus, may turn out to be one of the most beneficial benefits exciting.

Economic benefits of increased pine nut production

The beneficial effects for a local economy develop from several different channels: the sale of nut crops would impact the economy directly, through the purchases of goods and services locally, and indirectly, since those purchases in turn generate purchases. of intermediate goods and services of others, related sectors of the economy. Furthermore, these direct and indirect effects increase employment and income, improving the purchasing power of the economy in general, thus inducing higher 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 goods and services not produced locally.

Barriers to Commercial Cultivation of Piñón

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

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

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

o Existing limited knowledge on cross pollination and walnut size and improved walnut yield from cultivated or native pine nut plantations in the United States.

o Limited existing knowledge or study of the success of grafting in pine nuts or other species of stone pine trees.

o Possibly the most drought resistant characteristics of any nut producing plant, increasingly important in a climate ‘onset’ of ‘global warming’.

o More protein by weight than all nuts except cashew.

o Pinion has adaptability to the widest range of soil types.

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

o Greater and better use of arid lands than cattle raising with a protein production per acre. (Pine nuts = 123% more protein-efficient per acre than beef.)

o Little concern for disease and herbivory of insects.

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 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 (walnut trees, pecans, etc.) in good soil first. The pines will be used for the driest slopes when the people of … in a hundred years 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 must bear the risk and expense of all improvements and give the benefit freely to the many in more restricted circumstances.” Thomas Jefferson, 1810