Mediterranean stone pine: Botany and horticulture

Abstract

The seeds of Mediterranean stone pine, Pinus pinea, have been consumed by humans since the Paleolithic era. Similarly to edible seeds from other Eurasiatic or American pines, Mediterranean pine nuts and cones assumed early cultural, symbolic, and spiritual attributes by local cultures. They were represented in Neolithic rock paintings and sacred in the ancient high cultures, especially relevant in Greco-Roman cults. Although stone pine is well known and has been planted since antiquity, pine nuts still are gathered mainly in natural forests, and only recently has the crop taken the first steps from wild harvested to domestication. Stone pine is a good candidate for conversion to a horticultural crop. Its pine nuts are among the most expensive nuts, whose high price has made them an attractive opportunity as alternative crop on rain-fed farmland in Mediterranean climates. The species performs well on poor soils and needs reduced cultural practices in comparison with alternative crops, it is affected by few pests or diseases, and it resists climate adversities such as drought and extreme or late frosts. The current knowledge about stone pine as a plantation nut crop in specific plantations is still limited. At shoot level, vegetative and reproductive vigor are associated in the same axes. This imposes an "expanding crown"ideotype that limits the potential selection of highly productive dwarf cultivars for a modern, intensive, high-density horticultural system. The managed grafted trials with selected genotypes indicate that productivity of the forest land where these are located can be increased several-fold in comparison with yields in traditional stone pine forests. The stone pine has potential as a crop in agroforestry systems; in tree lines, such as shelterbelts adjacent to farmland or pastures; or in proper low-density orchard plantations. The ongoing standardization of the processing and the finished product might extend its use as a crop in Mediterranean climate zones around the world. © 2012 Wiley-Blackwell. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.