It has been quite definitely established, by
observation over a period of ten or more years, that the pollen of the
Weschcke variety black walnut does not cause fruiting in its own
pistillate blooms. Although this is not uncommon among some plants, such
as the chestnut and the filbert where it is generally the rule instead
of the exception, yet in the black walnuts species the pollen from its
own male (or staminate) flowers is generally capable of exciting the
ovule of the female (pistillate) flower into growth. Such species are
known as self-fertile. As in the case of ordinary chestnuts which
receive no cross pollination, and the pistillate flowers develop into
perfect burrs with shrunken meatless, imperfect nuts, the Weschcke black
walnut, when standing alone or when the prevailing winds prevent other
nearby pollen from reaching any or but few of its pistillate bloom, goes
on to produce fine looking average-sized nuts practically all of which
are without seed or kernels. Such therefore is the importance of knowing
the correct pollinators for each variety of nut tree. In the
self-sterility of filberts the failure of self-pollination results in an
absence of nuts or in very few rather than a full crop of seedless
fruits such as the common chestnut and the Weschcke black walnuts
produces.
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