Crowded conditions in ‘Serr’ walnut orchards predispose trees to initiate numerous catkins which reduce crop potential in 3 ways: a) catkins replace potentially fruitful buds at several nodes; b) they occasionally induce abscission of the terminal bud; and c) they utilize much reserve food, requisite for pistillate flower set, especially, because the cultivar is protandrous.
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Ryugo et al. (1985) studied this question.
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