PERFORMANCE OF HAZELNUT CULTIVARS AND OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY BREEDING SELECTONS

Hazelnut cultivar and advanced selection trials were established in 1990 and 1991 in Corvallis, Oregon. The 1990 planting contains 9 named cultivars, ‘Barcelona’, ‘Casina’, ‘Ennis’, ‘Halls Giant’, ‘Negret’, ‘Tonda di Giffoni’, ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’ (TGDL), ‘Tonda Romana’, and ‘Willamette’ and 8 numbered selections from the OSU breeding program. The 1991 planting includes 7 OSU selections and ‘Barcelona’, ‘Casina’, and ‘Willamette’.

OSU 244.001 is similar in size to TGDL, ‘Tonda Romana’, ‘Negret’, and ‘Tonda di Giffoni’. Its cumulative nut yield efficiency (YE) is nearly twice that of ‘Barcelona’. ‘Ennis’ has the highest YE. All genotypes have higher YE's than ‘Barcelona’ expect ‘Hall's Giant’ and TGDL, which are one-third that of ‘Barcelona’. Percentage of kernel ranges from 40 % for ‘Hall's Giant’ to 55 % for ‘Casina’ and ‘Negret’. Percentage of nuts free defects ranged from 72–88 % in 1994 had the highest and ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ the lowest percentage of good nuts in both years.

‘Casina’ and ‘Barcelona’ are similar in size in the 1991 planting, and the remaining genotypes are 68–76 % the size of ‘Barcelona’. OSU 243.002 and ‘Willimatte’ had the highest cumulative nut and kernel YE's Cumulative yields were lowest for OSU 252.146. The percentage of kernel ranged from 46 % for ‘Barcelona’ to an average of 58 % for OSU 238.125. ‘Casina’ and OSU 243.002 had the least number of defects.