| Abstract: | In 1904 the American Consul General at Hankow, China sent seed of tung (Aleurites fordii) to the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture at Chico, California. One tree planted near Tallahassee, Florida in 1907, produced a crop of fruit in 1913, from which the first 2.2 gallons of American tung oil were extracted. By 1930, nearly 8000 acres of tung orchard had been planted in Florida, and extensive plantings were made in Mississippi and Louisiana. By 1938 there were approximately 200,000 acres of tung orchards in the southeastern United States. Today the tung industry is hard-pressed to meet competition from substitutes and from importations. American tung growers are striving to get their industry on a sound economic basis by lowering their cost of production and widening the market for tung oil. |
