CITH Walnut-8
An ICAR-CITH Srinagar selection (CITH-W-8 in research papers) with a large nut, a kernel share of about 54% and light kernel colour; an official release notice was not found.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Walnut (Akhrot)
- Type
- Grafted plant
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- First bearing in 4–5 years (grafted)
- Expected yield
- Good, with an emphasis on large nut and kernel size
- Suitable soil
- Deep, well-drained loam; pH roughly 6.0–7.5; does not tolerate waterlogged or heavy ground
- Disease resistance
- Not specifically documented
- Release
- ICAR-CITH, Srinagar (selection CITH-W-8; release notice not found)
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
CITH Walnut-8 is a walnut selection from ICAR-CITH Srinagar, written CITH-W-8 in research papers. CITH's description gives a large nut of about 20.4 g and a kernel of about 11 g, a kernel share of about 54%, and a light kernel colour. Large, light kernels are what buyers of graded kernels pay more for. A 2025 study of 44 accessions named CITH-W-8 among 12 promising ones, with a kernel share of 54.33% but a kernel of 6.79 g, which points to a smaller nut. We found no official release notice. As a grafted plant it comes into bearing sooner than a seedling and its nuts match the parent tree.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose CITH Walnut-8 if you plan to sell graded kernels and want a large nut (about 20.4 g), a kernel share of about 54% and a light kernel colour. Choose CITH Walnut-6 for the even bigger nut (about 24 g) at a lower share (about 51%). Choose Hamdan if you want a variety with a SKUAST-Kashmir release behind it. CITH Walnut-8 is written CITH-W-8 in research papers and we found no release notice, so confirm its status and plant supply with ICAR-CITH Srinagar.
Sowing & cultivation
- Spacing8 × 8 m under traditional planting; closer high-density spacing (6 × 6 m) is used with intensive management
- FertilizerA balanced NPK dose while young, moving to a higher, pre-spring-growth-and-post-harvest-split dose once bearing (see the crop guide for the full schedule)
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
Major pests
- Walnut aphid
- Codling moth
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- A large nut (about 20.4 g) and kernel (about 11 g), bigger than the medium nuts of Hamdan (about 14 g).
- A light kernel colour, which buyers of graded kernels pay more for.
- A kernel share of about 54%, close to Hamdan's 54.76%.
Things to consider
- We found no official release notice. Ask ICAR-CITH Srinagar for the status and for who sells grafted plants.
- A 2025 study gives a smaller kernel (6.79 g), so check the nuts of the plants you buy before you rely on the size.
- No disease resistance is documented. Use the same preventive copper sprays against walnut blight as for any walnut.
Suitable regions
Listed here for the Kashmir valley, with a large, light-coloured kernel for the graded kernel trade. We found no official recommendation by region, so confirm with ICAR-CITH.
- Jammu and Kashmir
Size, colour and the kernel trade
Kashmir walnuts reach buyers in two main forms: in-shell and as kernels. For graded kernels, size and colour set the price. SKUAST-Jammu's Bhaderwah station notes that extra light and light kernels fetch higher returns in the international market than light amber ones (Sharma and others 2014, quoting Sundouri and others 2005). It also notes that the J&K Walnut Export Association scores export walnuts out of 10: 5 for nut appearance and 5 for kernel colour and taste. CITH Walnut-8 is described as large-nutted (about 20.4 g) with a light kernel (about 11 g).
That description points to the graded-kernel market, but it has not been checked here. A 2025 study of 44 accessions, where CITH-W-8 is among the 12 promising, gives a kernel of 6.79 g at a share of 54.33%, which would mean a nut of around 12.5 g (our arithmetic). If you plan to sell graded kernels, ask ICAR-CITH for nuts and kernels from a bearing tree and weigh and grade them yourself. A kernel buyer's quote on a sample is worth more than any published average.
Where the planting material comes from
This variety is a grafted plant: the variety on top, joined onto a rootstock below. Seed out of its fruit will not come up as this variety, so it cannot be kept as seed. Buy grafted plants from a registered nursery or a government farm, so the plant is true to the variety and free of disease.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Walnut (Akhrot) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CITH Walnut-6 | Farmers who want a large-nut ICAR-CITH selection and will first confirm its release status and plant supply | First bearing in 4–5 years (grafted) | No yield-per-tree figure found; large nut (about 24 g) | Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand |
| CITH Walnut-8this page | Kashmir valley farmers aiming at the graded kernel trade, where size and light colour set the price | First bearing in 4–5 years (grafted) | Good, with an emphasis on large nut and kernel size | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Eureka | Himachal Pradesh farmers who can see healthy Eureka trees in nearby orchards and want to match a local record | First bearing in 4–5 years (grafted) | Good under Himachal Pradesh conditions | Himachal Pradesh |
| Franquette | Frost-prone higher orchards in Himachal Pradesh, where late leafing protects the crop | First bearing in 4–5 years (grafted); late-leafing/flowering | Good, internationally proven, though no India-specific yield figure is confirmed here | Himachal Pradesh |
| Hamdan | Kashmir valley farmers who want a proven local grafted walnut with a good kernel share | First bearing in 4–5 years (grafted) | High — around 5 kg dry in-shell nut/mature tree by SKUAST-Kashmir's own evaluation figures | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Parbat (JWSP-06) | Farmers in the Jammu region's hills who want a recent SKUAST-Jammu release with a published yield and kernel figure | First bearing in 4–5 years (grafted) | 90 kg of nuts a tree and a 53.28% kernel share in SKUAST-Jammu's release list; tree age not stated | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Sulaiman | Kashmir valley farmers who care more about in-shell nut yield than the last point of kernel share | First bearing in 4–5 years (grafted) | High — around 5–6 kg dry in-shell nut/mature tree by SKUAST-Kashmir's own evaluation figures | Jammu and Kashmir |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Walnut (Akhrot) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Walnut (Akhrot) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Walnut (Akhrot) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Walnut (Akhrot) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Walnut (Akhrot) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Walnut (Akhrot) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Why does kernel colour matter for CITH Walnut-8?
Kashmir's walnut kernel export trade grades kernels by size and colour, and large, light-coloured kernels fetch the best price. CITH Walnut-8's large size and light colour are what make it attractive for farmers aiming at the export market rather than bulk local sale.
Is CITH Walnut-8 an officially released variety?
We could not confirm it. Papers and CITH reports call it CITH-W-8, an accession number, and the Released Varieties page of ICAR-CITH read 'Content will be updated soon' when we checked on 19 October 2026. We could not verify any count of released CITH walnut selections. Ask ICAR-CITH Srinagar for the release status and who sells grafted plants.
What does a 54% kernel share mean in kilos?
From 1 kg of in-shell nuts you get about 540 g of kernel. Hamdan at 54.76% gives about 548 g, so the shares are alike. The difference is size: at about 20.4 g a nut, CITH Walnut-8 gives roughly 49 nuts to a kilo, against roughly 71 for Hamdan at about 14 g. Fewer, bigger nuts are easier to grade and crack, which is what a buyer of graded kernels pays for. These are our calculations from the quoted weights.
Does light kernel colour really pay more?
Yes, according to the work from SKUAST-Jammu's Bhaderwah station (Sharma and others 2014, quoting Sundouri and others 2005): extra light and light kernels fetch higher returns in the international market than light amber ones. The J&K Walnut Export Association scores export walnuts out of 10, with 5 for nut appearance and 5 for kernel colour and taste. CITH Walnut-8's kernel colour is described as light; we have not seen it measured, so check the colour of kernels from the plants you buy.
How does CITH-W-8 look in the 2025 germplasm study?
The 2025 Indian Journal of Horticulture study of 44 accessions listed CITH-W-8 among 12 promising ones, with a kernel share of 54.33% and a kernel weight of 6.79 g. The share agrees with the 54% here. The kernel weight does not: 6.79 g at 54.33% means a nut of roughly 12.5 g (our arithmetic), well under 20.4 g. Different samples may explain it. Ask for nuts from a bearing tree of the plants you plan to buy before you rely on the size.
Can I plant CITH Walnut-8 outside the Kashmir valley?
It is listed for Jammu and Kashmir only, and we found no recommendation for other regions. Walnut grows at 900 to 3,500 m but the Nauni note says commercial planting above 2,500 m is unsafe because late spring frost can ruin the crop. For Himachal Pradesh, Franquette and Eureka have a longer local record. Ask ICAR-CITH or your KVK before planting it elsewhere.
Sourced from: Released Varieties — ICAR-CITH, Quality Planting Material Production in Walnut — ICAR-CITH, Srinagar, Characterization of Indian walnut germplasm for nut and kernel traits — Indian Journal of Horticulture 82(1), March 2025 (CITH-W-8 values seen as a search extract; the file did not open), Sharma and others, Exploiting genetic diversity of walnut from Jammu region for export related traits — Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 84(9), 2014 (kernel colour and export scoring). editorial policy.