Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Georgia Ballroom (Sheraton Hotel Atlanta)
The European hazelnut (Corylus avellana) has potential as a niche crop for small farmers in Kentucky for both in-shell nut sales at farmers’ markets and shelled nuts in value-added products. Susceptibility to eastern filbert blight (EFB) has limited the past use of European hazelnut cultivars in this region. Recently released hazelnut varieties from Oregon State University have high resistance to EFB and could serve as potential new cultivars for the region. The objective of this study was to examine regional suitability of five EFB resistant hazelnut cultivars, Jefferson, Yamhill, Gamma, Eta, and Theta in Kentucky plantings. Jefferson and Yamhill are main crop cultivars, whereas the other selections are mainly considered pollinizers. The cultivars Jefferson, Eta, and Theta have late blooming characteristics and may avoid late season frost and freeze events in our region. These trees were selected in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and were not specifically selected for winter hardiness in the Kentucky region; therefore, the critical winter temperatures for tree damage are not known. Additionally, it is not known if these varieties will flower early in the spring and be damaged by frost events. Trees were planted in Spring 2011 at KSU and UK. Deer damage led to problems establishing the trees for the first two years. Better electrical fencing was established at KSU in 2013 and trees were also left in bush form with approximately five stems each. In 2015, trees flowered on March 23, 2015 at the KSU Research and Demonstration Farm and flowered on March 25, 2015 at the Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability, near Jackson Kentucky. At KSU, eleven out of forty trees flowered; five ‘Yamhill’, three ‘Theta’, two ‘Jefferson’, and one ‘Gama’ tree. At Jackson, 15 of 19 trees flowered. Three of four for ‘Gamma’, ‘Theta, and ‘Eta’ and two of three for ‘Jefferson’. All the ‘Yamhill’ flowered. At KSU nuts were produced for the first time, with Gamma trees having the most nuts per tree. Nuts were also produced for the first time at the Robinson Center, but all nuts were hollow.