Organic Walnut Cultivation in Intensive and Super-Intensive System—Sustainable Investment. Case Study: Gorj County, Romania

Abstract

The interest of the countries with traditions of walnut cultivation to increase the quantity and quality of walnut production is due to the fact that the organic cultivation of walnut is a sustainable business, with an ecological, economic and social impact. The walnut plant (Juglans regia) is a resource for food, dermatocosmetic and phytotherapeutic products, is raw material in the wood industry and a source of biomass. It is a species suitable for organic farming, with no chemical factors input (in line with the EU program to reduce pesticide use and fuel consumption by 35% in the context of the current energy crisis), and has properties of atmosphere purification and air-conditioning. Due to the creation of varieties with high production potential, suitable for cultivation in intensive and super-intensive plantations and also due to the government financial support, walnut plantations can contribute to the development of new valorization directions for the obtained production, by processing fruits and other vegetative organs (green nuts, green and dried shells, foliage, timber) with significant profits. In order to establish and capitalize on a walnut plantation in the pedological and climatic conditions of Romania, pedological studies, worthiness and pedoclimatic studies were carried out in the depression area of Gorj County and show the stages of cultivation technology in intensive and super-intensive systems. The sustainability and economic efficiency of setting up organic walnut cultivation has been highlighted in view of the costs for agrotechnical works, labor and material expenses. According to the analysis of the efficiency indicators, it has been shown that the establishment of an ecological walnut orchard, on an area of 1 ha, in Gorj County, Romania, is a sustainable, appropriate and opportune investment, in terms of capitalizing on the agricultural potential of the land, environmental protection and with social and economic impact.