Hazel cultivation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

G. Đurić, P. Ilić, G. Mićić, N. Mićić
The high price of hazelnuts and their deficit on the world market in recent years influenced the increase in production and a significant expansion of production areas under hazel. This tendency is also present in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). It is favoured by the moderate continental climate in the northern and the sub-Mediterranean one in the southern part of the country. Hazels are grown in BiH on farms of 0.2 to 5 ha, while a few orchards of up to 70 ha have been planted over the past year. The intensity of production ranges from semi-intensive to intensive growing systems. The most common cultivars, both in nurseries and orchards, are: ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’, ‘Istrian Long’, ‘Hall’s Giant’, ‘Romai’ and ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’. The hazel growing systems are different. The most represented are orchards with trees on their own roots in a system of a bush with multiple stems or as small trees in a form of a free vase. BiH imports over 90% of total hazelnuts consumption mostly from Turkey, however, domestic producers have no problem in placing their products on the domestic market. It is expected that the further intensification of production and increasing the number of hazel orchards would put BiH in a group of stable producers of nuts in the area of southeastern Europe in the coming period. To reach this goal it is necessary to carry out a program of testing of all cultivars in those regions, which are characterized by favourable conditions for the cultivation of hazel. Data obtained concerning the agro-biological and technological characteristics of the cultivars, would enable the determination of the cultivar composition that would meet the needs of sustainable and economically viable production under the given conditions.
Đurić, G., Ilić, P., Mićić, G. and Mićić, N. (2021). Hazel cultivation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Acta Hortic. 1308, 133-140
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1308.20
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1308.20
training system, cultivars, rootstocks, intensity, planting material, cultural practices
English

Acta Horticulturae