Crop

Where can I grow walnut?

Juglans regia · Nut · Perennial

Walnut is a great fit (80+) on 19.6 million km² (7.6 million sq mi) of land in 75 countries, 37% of it only with irrigation. The most well-suited land is in Texas, United States, Buenos Aires, Argentina and California, United States. Where it can't grow, it's usually not enough winter chill (75%) and winters get too cold (13%).

Crop fit≤5075100Uncolored land: won't grow

Tap the map for the score at any spot. Each square is a 28 km (17 mile) grid cell.

Great fit (80+): 19.6M km²(7.6M sq mi); 14% of land
Worth a try (50–79): 3.1M km²(1.2M sq mi); 2% of land
Great fit without irrigation: 12.1M km²(4.7M sq mi); Rain alone is enough
Countries: 75; With great-fit land

Regions with the most suitable land

1
🇺🇸Texas, United States
Great fit on 347k km² (134k sq mi) · worth a try on 30k km² (12k sq mi)
For example Dallas (100), Fort Worth (100)
2
🇦🇷Buenos Aires, Argentina
Great fit on 304k km² (117k sq mi) · worth a try on 600 km² (300 sq mi)
For example Mar del Plata (100), Bahía Blanca (100)
3
🇺🇸California, United States
Great fit on 214k km² (83k sq mi) · worth a try on 13k km² (4,900 sq mi)
For example San Francisco (100), Santa Rosa (100)
4
🇨🇳Hunan, China
Great fit on 183k km² (71k sq mi)
For example Changde (100), Heshan (100)
5
🇨🇳Shandong, China
Great fit on 180k km² (70k sq mi)
For example Weifang (100), Jinan (100)
6
🇨🇳Hubei, China
Great fit on 177k km² (68k sq mi)
For example Wuhan (100), Shiyan (100)
7
🇦🇺Victoria, Australia
Great fit on 160k km² (62k sq mi) · worth a try on 3,700 km² (1,400 sq mi)
For example Frankston East (100), Warrnambool (100)
8
🇺🇸Missouri, United States
Great fit on 159k km² (61k sq mi)
For example Kansas City (100), St. Louis (100)
9
🇦🇺New South Wales, Australia
Great fit on 150k km² (58k sq mi) · worth a try on 14k km² (5,600 sq mi)
For example Orange (100), Armidale (100)
10
🇮🇷Razavi Khorasan, Iran
Great fit on 113k km² (44k sq mi) · worth a try on 600 km² (200 sq mi) · mostly with irrigation
For example Qūchān (100), Mashhad (100)
11
🇮🇷Kerman, Iran
Great fit on 93k km² (36k sq mi) · worth a try on 1,300 km² (500 sq mi) · mostly with irrigation
For example Kerman (100), Sirjan (100)
12
🇷🇺Volgograd Oblast, Russia
Great fit on 91k km² (35k sq mi) · worth a try on 21k km² (8,000 sq mi) · mostly with irrigation
For example Volzhsky (99), Volgograd (98)
13
🇪🇸Andalusia, Spain
Great fit on 90k km² (35k sq mi) · worth a try on 9,300 km² (3,600 sq mi)
For example Ronda (100), Ubrique (100)
14
🇫🇷New Aquitaine, France
Great fit on 88k km² (34k sq mi) · worth a try on 500 km² (200 sq mi)
For example Bordeaux (100), La Rochelle (100)
15
🇦🇷Cordoba, Argentina
Great fit on 86k km² (33k sq mi) · worth a try on 17k km² (6,400 sq mi)
For example Río Cuarto (100), Villa María (100)

Regions are states and provinces, counting land within 75 km of a town. At most three per country, so the list covers the world.

By country

🇺🇸United States3.4M km² (1.3M sq mi) · 62% of its land
🇨🇳China2.7M km² (1.0M sq mi) · 47% of its land
🇮🇷Iran983k km² (380k sq mi) · 70% of its land
🇦🇷Argentina771k km² (298k sq mi) · 49% of its land
🇹🇷Turkey645k km² (249k sq mi) · 77% of its land
🇷🇺Russia552k km² (213k sq mi) · 11% of its land
🇪🇸Spain481k km² (186k sq mi) · 85% of its land
🇦🇺Australia408k km² (158k sq mi) · 51% of its land
🇺🇦Ukraine400k km² (155k sq mi) · 65% of its land
🇫🇷France378k km² (146k sq mi) · 64% of its land

Best-suited towns

100%fit
Hanzhong
🇨🇳 Shaanxi, China
100%fit
Turin
🇮🇹 Piedmont, Italy
100%fit
Florence
🇮🇹 Tuscany, Italy
100%fit
Huainan
🇨🇳 Anhui, China
100%fit
Mingguang
🇨🇳 Anhui, China
100%fit
Zhumadian
🇨🇳 Henan, China
100%fit
Linyi
🇨🇳 Shandong, China
100%fit
Yishui
🇨🇳 Shandong, China
100%fit
Lyon
🇫🇷 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
100%fit
Shiyan
🇨🇳 Hubei, China
100%fit
Wichita
🇺🇸 Kansas, United States
100%fit
Nice
🇫🇷 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

The most comfortable fits among the 2,000 biggest towns, two per region.

What walnut needs

Winter chill (9 winters in 10): Ideal at least 45 portionsWon't grow below 30 portions
Coldest night of the year (average): Ideal at least -8°F (-22°C)Won't grow below -18°F (-28°C)
Frost-free days: Ideal at least 180 daysWon't grow below 150 days
Degree days above 50°F (10°C): Ideal at least 2,700 °F·days (1,500 °C·days)Won't grow below 1,980 °F·days (1,100 °C·days)
Days above 95°F (35°C): Ideal at most 75 daysWon't grow above 140 days
Yearly rain: Ideal 26–47 in (650–1,200 mm)Won't grow below 14 in (350 mm) or above 79 in (2,000 mm)

Late-leafing varieties (Chandler) dodge spring frost. Very hot days sunburn the nuts.

Sources: Luedeling 2012, Climate change impacts on winter chill for temperate fruit and nut production: a review (Scientia Horticulturae); UC ANR: Walnut Production Manual. Ranges not yet reviewed by an agronomist.

What stops it elsewhere

Not enough winter chill75%
Winters get too cold13%
Frost-free season too short7%
Not enough summer heat5%

Share of the land scoring under 50, by what holds it back most.

How this map works

Every 28 km square of land is scored 0–100 against the requirements above, using 1991–2020 monthly climate averages with frost, chill and heat estimated by simulating daily weather. Each square is scored with whichever variety fits it best. “With irrigation” ignores rain shortfalls; “Rain-fed only” counts them.

Climate is only part of it: soil, slope, water and markets decide where a crop is actually farmed. Use this to shortlist places, then check them locally.