HAZELNUT TRAINING SYSTEMS : COMPARISON BETWEEN THREE SYSTEMS USED ON THREE VARIETIES

E. Germain, J.P. Sarraquigne
In the EEC AGRIMED program a trial network comparing different training systems was started between 1985 and 1987 in different mediterranean countries. The French trial was set up in 1985 in the Garonne valley near Bordeaux with three varieties i.e. Segorbe, Ennis and Tonda Romana. The trees grown on a single trunk, were trained on the three following systems : open center vase, vertical axis and V shape hedge made up of pairs of trees spaced 0,40 m apart and leaning out at an angle of 30° from the vertical on each side of the row.

The results obtained after eleven years of trials indicate that the individual trees paired in V shape hedge had much lower trunk cross sections than individually trained trees, particularly for Ennis which is the least vigourous variety. Yields per hectare were not significantly different, except for the V shape hedge which had higher yields in the first years after planting, especially for the Segorbe V shape hedge which is still producing slightly higher yields. Few differences were observed in nut weight, kernel weight and kernel ratio between the different training systems studied, for all three varieties. However, the nuts of trees trained in V shape hedge were slightly smaller and the percentages of kernel were significantly lower in the case of the open center vase system, for all three cultivars studied.

The constant growth of water sprouts observed in the V hedge, on one hand, and the difficulty in maintaining the initial structure of the axis system, on the other hand, made us choose the open center vase of the best performing training system, considering its lower setting up cost and easy maintenance.

Germain, E. and Sarraquigne, J.P. (1997). HAZELNUT TRAINING SYSTEMS : COMPARISON BETWEEN THREE SYSTEMS USED ON THREE VARIETIES. Acta Hortic. 445, 237-246
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.445.33
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.445.33

Acta Horticulturae