Ask A Scientist© Botany Archive

  
name         Scott
status       other
age          40s

Question -   I've recently been asked a question as to this person's
english
walnut tree.  The nuts have been prematurely falling from his tree
and he doesn't know what's causing it?

Could you help me with some ideas?
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One possibility is that squirrels are just picking off the green nuts
without eating them.  Those little bushy-tailed rodents can be pretty
destructive and wasteful that way.

Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D.
Assistant Director
PG Research Foundation, Darien, Illinois
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Sometimes insects can cause premature fruit drop:
http://www.agweb.okstate.edu/pearl/insects/crop/f7190.htm

Your local agricultural extension service should be able to help also.


Anthony R. Brach, Ph.D.
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The tree could be sick.  Check the local phonebook for a tree specialist in
the area to take a look at the tree and any recent changes in the
environment.  If it's a virus, there's not much you can do, but a fungus or
bug infestation is often treatable.
---------
Christine Ticknor
Ph.D. Student
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
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