GROWING HAZELNUTS

DRAFT HAKI KOLA

TIRANA JUNE 2009

Contents
Contents...............................................................................................................................2 Introduction..................................................................................................................3 Consumption, sales ............................................................................................................3 Market access and prices ...........................................................................................3 Heritage cultural practices on harvest and use....................................................................4 After harvesting ..................................................................................................................4 Harvest. ...............................................................................................................................4 Improvements on natural hazelnut stands ...........................................................................5 Where natural hazelnuts live: ..............................................................................................5 Demonstrations: Rehabilitation, improvements and cultivation ........................................5 Main implementation activities :........................................................................................5 When hazelnut sleep: .........................................................................................................7 Methods of PROPAGATION..............................................................................................8 Cuttings................................................................................................................................8 Seeds....................................................................................................................................8 Grafting................................................................................................................................8 Whip and tongue graft.........................................................................................................8 Layering...............................................................................................................................9 Micro-propagation .............................................................................................................9 Establishment of plantation with cultivated hazelnuts.......................................................10 Selection of soil..........................................................................................................10 Land form .........................................................................................................................10 Proximity to neighbors and wandering animals ................................................................10 Orchard layout .................................................................................................................11 Planting techniques .........................................................................................................11 Management of young trees .............................................................................................11 Table 1: Analyze costs profits for establishment, maintenance, production lek /ha.......12 Experiment today-Save tomorrow ...................................................................................12 How to apply this principles to prove the hazelnut cultivation? .....................................13 How to implement principles on experiments during the preparatory phase: ..................13 Grafting experiment ..................................................................................................14

Introduction
There are more than 11000 hectare of natural hazelnuts stands in Albanian Forest Fund, from Shkreli in North to Skrapari and Kolonja in South of the country. The most of them is transferred in the ownership of communes. Covering the slopes around villages, hazelnut stands are used mainly for grazing. Interest of farmers to treat degraded shrubs and get income from them is increasing. In plain west zone there are about 50 000 hazelnut trees, cultivated in orchards. Guidelines aims to advice farmers on design projects to establish new small scale family base hazelnut plantations, as well as to get revenues through assessment, protection and treat natural hazelnuts stands actually owned by communes. There are some orientaton data on consume, sales, needs, demands and offer for hazelnut on actual market.

Consumption, sales
Our market deal mainly in shell with shelled hazelnuts, and consume is lower than 200 Mt per year. Fruit used by deserts industry, as well as in cooking. Other food industries using edible nuts as ingredients include the confectionery companies and the liquor industries. There are about 15 confectionery companies in the country producing biscuits, Buon dolce cakes, and other cookies with chocolate. These operators mainly use hazelnuts for the production of chocolates. For example, Insika shpk, based in Durres, uses on average 100 kg of shelled hazelnuts per month in the production of cookies with chocolate. The company sometimes imported this quantity from Turkey together with other inputs, and sometimes was supplied from others.

Market access and prices

Among the nuts , hazelnuts are those ones with the highest international prices per kg. Such a situation is not reflected by the Albanian market, where prices of hazelnuts are lower than those ones of walnuts. The weak demand, the concentration of production in a single district and the lack of competition between buyers contribute to keep low the market price of domestic production, imported walnuts are paid more than twice as much (about 2 eur/kg) and the average unit price of the little quantity of imported hazelnuts is much higher (421 ALL/kg in 2006). Hazelnuts prices at different stages of food chain Stage in the food chain
Domestic product - price to producer Wholesale price in shell Retail price in shell Wholesale price shelled

Hazelnuts
Estimate: 70- 80 National 100 National 150 Imported 90 Not roasted 960-1,200

Roasted 1,020-1,300

Imported hazelnuts now are scoring to 30-40 Mton in year.

Heritage cultural practices on harvest and use

Historically people have harvested hazelnuts from chestnut groves around villages for thousand years. Main harvesters from total village population were shepherds and children. Generally the harvest time coincided with the oak fodder production, and hazelnut fruits were very welcomed for tired hard workers. Although was clear cut time after time for hurdles, or for fuel wood, hazelnut survived without any maintenance as weed control, digging, fertilizing or irrigation. Cultivation was practiced for the first time in Albania in the years 1930, when the first plantation were established in Visoka village, Mallakastra district. This plantation beside the production was in the same time the mother of thousands of seedlings for many state farms during centralized economy.

After harvesting
If the producers have decided to sell, it is anticipated to sell it as soon as the harvest is gathered, thus eliminating any storage concerns. If necessary it is dried in natural conditions after being washed and sorted by size. With the exception of Fier, Gijokaster and Lezha (all together produce 86% of total) where the output largely exceeds estimated demand, and beside needs they can sale, for other districts sales of these products are quite occasional and production is kept for self consumption or local trade.

Harvest.
One good managed in optimal conditions hazelnut plantation has a yield of approx 2500 kilograms a hectare, this would mean half of walnut plantations. Hazelnuts are hand harvested, methods little changed over the past 2000 years Fruits are harvested in late summer and early autumn when the nuts fall to the ground within a short period. The splitting and opening of the burrs is a sign that the nuts inside are matured. It is advised to avoid pre-mature fruits. Hazelnuts add much of their final height during last two weeks on the tree. For farmers who use mechanical collection it is advised to do it as late as possible, or with other word not before natural nut fall begins. According to the data of MAFCP the hazelnut production in 2006 scored 184 Mton. Highly experienced farmers recommend: during production period plants must be daily checked, but it is better to collect only the nuts which are

spontaneously falling on the ground. When working in a sufficiently large cultivation, one person can collect about 50 kg per day.

Improvements on natural hazelnut stands

As a lot of other natural resources, hazelnut is one of forgotten properties, treated as without owner assets, a gift of nature, where the poor rural people can gather fruits, hurdles or leaves. Forest administration judge it as short manikins without timber value, fruit tree sciences accept it under the shadow of plums, walnut or cherry tree.

Where natural hazelnuts live:

The natural growth habit of our common hazelnut is a bush. As matter of fact two species of Corryllis gender are actually present in natural conditions in Albania, Coryllis Avellana L classified as common hazelnut, and Corylis colurna, classified as wild or turkey hazelnut. Second one is seldom met in rocky mountain slopes between oak and beech zones. It is higher than common hazelnut, varies from 10-12 meter high up to 2030 meter, with pyramidal crone. It is preferred as rootstock, when grafting is applied

Demonstrations: Rehabilitation, improvements and cultivation

Generally the natural hazelnut stands have more than 10000 stems per hectare. High density is defined as main reason for the low yield accompanied by the difficulties in harvest. Forest Service in cooperation with Regional Federations of CFPU, and CFPUA can establish demonstrative areas for rehabilitation and cultivation natural hazelnut stands. First step: Site selection. The main selection criteria is the necessary number of trees for unit area, interest of village to participate and agreements to close the area and protect area Second step: design of the improvement project. Based on actual situation project define interventions as fencing, coppicing, thinning, grafting maintenance, analyze cost-profit. Selected technology will be presented discussed and adjusted with the users, finally the agreement for implementation of intervention will be achieved. Extension service specialist will be part of preparation and decision making on establishment and monitor of demonstrations

Main implementation activities :

a) Preparation of natural stand : Three intervention can be considered as preparatory: fencing on agreed boundaries; regenerative cutting in all area, intensive thinning, keeping the agreed number of shoots in area as the future trees, one part of them will be used as rootstocks. For better fertilization, it is advised to combine grafted with non grafted trees. Different shape crones of the hazel nut with only one, two or more stems with different form and height can be experimented. b) preparation of rootstocks: the half of remaining shoots can be used as rootstocks for grafting. It is advised to get high experience worker for rootstock and scion preparation and contract them. c) Selection of scions. There are limited studies and surveys for selections of available mother trees. Three looks the sources: 1. existing plantations; 2. the Spanish collection of cultivars in Qenami nursery (Nako 2009), 3. import and test the main cultivars in USA Barcelona Ennis, Lewis and Casina, as well as other recommended cultivars. Trees to be grafted or remaining for fertilizer, will be defined as well as the number of the stems for each tree (with one stem only, two or three side stem with the main one in center or many stems), height of crone beginning from e 60 cm to one meter height.

One farmer from Dibra is user of 1000 m2 of natural hazelnut. He explain that he knows how to treat apples, or plum trees, but he does not know if I he can and how to prune or thin hazelnuts. His hazelnut stand is very degraded. There are not any specific recommendation for hazelnut stands in CFMP, the only advise for next ten years is: leave it as it is. As matter of fact he want to prune and thin, with other words to transform it in a orchard. What is the best time to do pruning and thinning. Do you recommend me heavy thinning, what about pruning? Before pruning a good advice is to know in details the actual situation in your stand, according to the number of shoots, density of them, vegetative situation and annual growth. It is better to do this survey together with extension service specialist. Its good to inform him in details, what you have in mind for the future of your trees, it can help him to give you advices on future treatments. It is not easy to get through your question how you want your trees look in the future . Generally in degraded shrubs clear cut of existing shrubs is recommended. It can help regeneration, followed in the next spring by a lot of young shoots. It is called coppicing and it is applied by farmers to produce hurdles for fencing, baskets, etc. Another intervention can be thinning, to select and support only the trees of the future. The second step can be pruning of the future trees. There are different kind of pruning, coming from you decision on number of trunks, and height of the crone. If you decide to have only one stem, you will cut it in the 120-140 cm high, and leave only the 5 highest buds. All other need to be removed, and controlled time after time to keep the stem clean. It looks nice, with special combination of colors between stem and leaves, flowers, and changes in seasons. For two three years it can give you first fruits. Keep in mind, hazelnut produce in the young parts of crone. If you decide to thin and prune, do it in January - February.

When hazelnut sleep:

Hazelnut trees are monoecious self-sterile, with separate male and female flowers produces in the same tree. Pollen produced by catkins on one variety does not fertilise the female flowers of the same variety. The male flowers or catkins emerge in winter, often several to a bunch, and they gradually elongate and release pollen. The female flowers emerge in a cluster on bare branches and are tiny and deep red in color and topped with two curved stigmas. The female flowers are wind pollinated during winter and early spring but pollination is long complex process. The pollen grain of a compatible variety grows to the base of the style on the female flower within 4-7 days of pollination but development is suspended and remain quiescent for 5-6 months. By early summer the shell (or ovary) enlarges and a green husk forms around it. When the shell is about half its eventual size, the ovule develops inside and fertilization can take place. If the fertilization is successful, the kernel develops inside the shell and a nut is formed. Nuts are enclosed in a leafy husk and after the end of summer the husk turn from green to

brown, the leaves turn golden brown and nuts begin to fall. While the trees lose their leaves in winter, flowering during winter indicates that while the trees are deciduous, they are not completely dormant

Methods of PROPAGATION
Decision of the farmer on plantation or graft natural hazelnut, need to be followed by selection of Pollinators, which should be available in the nurseries or orchards as peak periods of male and female flowering may not coincide for any one variety. This will ensure cross-pollination Whilst it is recommend at least 20% of pollinators to the main cultivar, it is advisable to use 15 - 20 meters as the maximum distance of any main cultivar to a pollinators.

Cuttings
The use of leafy cuttings with bottom heat in a coarse rooting medium and indole butyric acid (IBA) hormone treatment has had limited success. High humidity ventilated fog has been found to increase the rooting percentage of hazelnut leafy cuttings; however, they are also more susceptible to basal necrosis with this method.

Seeds
Hazelnuts do not reproduce true to type from seed. Generally it is not applied because by layering method, can produce cheaper hazelnut seedlings

Grafting
Common natural hazelnut is recommended as useful rootstock on grafting, because it is considered as it is non suckering. Its deep taproot results in increased drought tolerance. However, seeds of this species are difficult to germinate and, because of the taproot, seedlings are difficult to transplant. Natural stands prepared preliminary looks to be appropriate. The common factor among all grafts is that the cambium, the narrow ring of cells that generate the plants sap-pumping vascular tubes, of the scion and rootstock must line up perfectly with each other.

Whip and tongue graft

A whip and tongue graft may be performed in mid-winter. Care is taken to insure that the rootstock and scion are completely dormant prior to grafting. If the rootstock has sap moving upwards in the phloem, a successful callus bridge will not form between the stock and scion. After the graft union is knit, we get water and nutrient transfer so the root and buds can function normally. The surface areas of the stock and scion must be cut cleanly. It is essential to make sure that the blade is not dull when cutting either the rootstock or the scion. A budding rubber or budding tape, is wrapped securely but not

tightly at the union. The graft is placed in a warm greenhouse for several weeks while the graft union becomes secure. Later the plant is slowly introduced to harsher conditions and finally planted in its natural environment.

Layering
The main method for propagation is by the use of stool beds to produce trees on their own roots. The mound of mulch is kept moist and the mother plant is irrigated and fertilized to ensure optimum growth. Where conditions are favorable, roots grow from the base of suckers into the mulch and each sucker may grow two meters in height. During winter dormancy, the mound of mulch is carefully removed and each sucker and its new root system is severed from the mother plant. The new trees are then ready for planting

Micro-propagation
This ensures uniformity and reduced management needs. Plus the micro propagation method cuts years off of the time is takes to grow a traditional layering bed

This method is performed in a laboratory situation n using in vitro techniques. It is used to propagate rootstock, particularly hybrid rootstock, and own -rooted trees where very large numbers are required. Pieces of plant tissue, usually of tip growth, are taken from parent plants that have been grown under controlled conditions. These pieces are called explants. Explants are surface-sterilised before placing in a nutrition medium. The balance of nutrients and plant hormones in this medium determines the type of explants growth. During the first stage, the medium promoters shoot tip growth and than is transferred to a multiplication medium where numbers increase rapidly. The explants are then divided, treated with a root promoting substance and planted in a propagation

medium. The growing plants are gradually hardened to a green house environment and finally outside conditions.

Establishment of plantation with cultivated hazelnuts

Selection of soil
While natural hazelnuts will grow on wide range of soils, for commercial production the preferred soil is a sandy loam with a pH of 6-7. Although hazelnuts produce a deep tap root, feeder roots are relatively shallow. Trees will grow and crop on shallow soils but trees planted on deep soils will grow significantly larger and produce greater yields. Soil should be well- drained and contain a good amount of organic matter. Light sands and clay loams should be improved with the addition of organic mulch, and hard set of soils or soil reduced in depth by a hard layer should be deep reeped in both directions prior to planting

Land form
The more level an orchard site is, the easer is to carry out all the mechanical operations required on a nut orchard. It is related to the cost of operations as maintenance and collection of fruits. Polluted industrial zones have negative impact on quality of fruits. Aspect can be an important consideration where mountains are in close proximity to an orchard site, because they can cause shading that reduces valuable sunlight hours. Valley areas are often prone to fog and poor air movement that can increase disease problems and valleys are also prone to frost that can reduce or eliminate nut set. It is important to check the previous land use because the soil may have been contaminated by chemical residues. The previous vegetation need to be studied. Land that has been used previously for orchard use, may have root residue in the soil and the presence of the root rooting fungus, Armillaria. This may affect the orchard trees in the future

Proximity to neighbors and wandering animals

If neighbors use their land for grazing, especially when they breed ruminant livestock, rabbits, different birds, the decision to establish orchard need to be think carefully. If there is not any agreement to change the actual land use, it is better to get another site for plantation. In most situations it is necessary to fence orchard and protect from wandering animals. Generally in winters farmer in some part of the country applying the free grazing for cows, sheep, pigs, goats, and horses with first legs belt, it can be troublesome, especially to young trees, or flowered hazelnuts. This need to be considered before plantation.

Orchard layout
Tree spacing and direction of row should take into account the direction of prevailing winds, sunlight interception, drainage and indented method of harvest. It is suggested to plant about 20% of total trees as fertilizers, mixed every sixths position in every third row or another schemes. Orchard rows are planted in a north-south directions where possible to optimize sunlight. Tree spacing is an individual decision based on site, climate and management. Trees planted on 4.5 meter grid equate to 493 trees per hectare while trees planted on a 6 meter grid equate to 277 trees per hectare. Many growers find a 5.5 m grid is adequate for machinery access down the rows and allows for tree growth. However, while the trees are young, this spacing results in vacant orchard space. Double density planting is initially expensive, but it is preferred form some farmers, because it makes better use of the area throughout the life of orchard. In double density plantings trees are planted approximately 3.5-4 m apart and alternate trees down the row are removed when they start to become crowded after 10-12 years. Tree rows are usually 5.5-6 m apart.

Planting techniques
Before planting all weed need to be removed. In general, fertilizers should not be applied to newly planted trees. Some farmers incorporate super phosphate into planting area before planting. When is possible irrigation system is need to be installed prior to planting. Both drip systems and micro sprinklers are suitable in hazelnut orchards. Hazelnut trees are planted during winter dormancy. Trees usually arrive from nursery as bared-rooted whips, and roots are kept moist by covering with moist mulch. After the tree lines are marked out, the planting holes can be dug. Diameter of holes recommended not less than 30 cm, to keep the roots spread out over the mound, before filling the hole with soil. Because the combination of hazelnut cultivars is so important to pollination it is wise to permanently label each tree row or individual trees where the main plant is interplanted with pollinisers. This saves problems should a tree die and need replacing . To encourage a single trunk rather than a multi-stemmed bush, the top of the tree can be trimmed off at planting. About five good buds are left at the top of whip and the lower buds can be removed carefully with the fingers. To protect the trunk from sunburn, it can be painted with a white plastic paint that is diluted with water 1:1, or it can be covered and bend with ray straw.

Management of young trees

Most growers control weeds in the tree line by mulchiring around the base of the tree. However some hand weeding is inevitable around the tree trunk and sucker removal is usually done at the same time. For optimal growth, the oil must be kept moist during the growing season. Mulch will help retain moisture but irrigation is essential during dry weather. Trees are usually fertilized with a high nitrogen fertilizer son after bud burst in spring. There are three methods of tree shaping: single trunk trees; multiple (2-4) trunk trees and multi stemmed bushes. The most desirable of these in commercial orchards is the single trunk tree. To establish single trunk trees, all sucker growth is continually removed. To establish multiple trunk trees allow two or three robust well placed suckers to grow and allow these to form trunks beside the main trunk. Having more than one trunk forms a strong tree for windy sites however, multiple trunks must be kept free of low branches, to allow development of regular crones and high quality of fruits. Hazelnut trees should be in commercial production when they are about 6 years old, and a well managed orchard should remain active for 40 years or more

Table 1: Analyze costs profits for establishment, maintenance, production lek /ha
Activities Trees (500 trees hectare) Establishment Maintenance of young trees for 5 years Expenses for trees in production from 5-10 years old Expenses for trees in production from 11-1 5 years old Expenses /lek 25000 15000 50000 50000 60000 Profits 0 0 0 100000 200000 Balance -25000 -15000 -50000 50000 140000 10000 0

Experiment today-Save tomorrow

Key of a new business success is the scientific safety. Cultivation of hazelnut is horticulture project, in this sense the scientific research is of extension nature. There is not experience on how to rehabilitate, and cultivate natural hazelnut. It make necessary to establish comparative demonstration, easy to be monitored through ongoing measurements. It is important to be based in some principles, implementation of which require one minimum additional work as follows: All comparative demonstrations must be done with references with testimony stand

It is advised to avoid the factors of complicate variations, to keep samples as simple as possible to facilitate the interpretation. If we are convinced in some of variants, it is advised to have as much as possible replications with the same treatments. It can help in verity of results. Each demonstration must have the minimum of 100 trees with the same conditions and treatments. It enable the interpretations of results can Demonstration area need to be circled by a buffer area with the same trees and same treatments to avoid the edge impact.

How to apply this principles to prove the hazelnut cultivation?

First of all, we need to agree that before starting the hazelnut grafting, it is very important to know in details the technology and test it in different conditions. Second is to have the tested sources for scions productions. Preparatory activities: Define criteria and procedures on selection demonstration area Selection of the demonstration area Identify the availability of hazelnuts cultivars and disponibility of farmers to produce scions for grafting Get agreements between the hazelnut growers and the candidates to start demonstration grafting Close area through fencing and prepare the demonstration areas through silvicultural interventions Select the shooting with regular dimensions on different grafting methods Start first grafting in different methods with the existing genetic sources on hazelnut cultivars Based on above prepare small applications, accompanied by the financial calculations . Discuss and submit the applications to the NRDP project; MADA; in Ministry of Agriculture Food and Consumer Protection.For actual stage the priority will be fencing and rehabilitation of vegetation on existing hazelnut stands

How to implement principles on experiments during the preparatory phase:

1. Needs for testimony: In each demonstrative area keep in mind the principle: the demonstration area need to be doubled compared with the area used for demonstration, this can help to compare the treated and non treated trees 2. The needs to follow the same treatments; This predicate that all demonstration will be implemented doing only one intervention. For example; thinning:- the distance between the trees of future will be uniform, the number of stems more or

less the same; the same fertilization per each tree, the same grafting technology and time, with other word the same treatments for each tree in sample. 3. Principle three and four: the possibilities for replication the minimum two times the same variant with a minimum hundred trees can be a little flexible in case of testing different methods on grafting, to keep less number of tress on term of appropriate time. In this case it is advised to keep the same rootstock, and the same cultivars scions, and reduce number of the trees grafted in each decided date. 4. Necessity of isolation zone, is related to the different sunshine and light in different parts of stand, in edge of stand more sunshine and light, as well as the aggressively of wild animals in different positions where sample is situated in stand. Being in middle looks more isolated and less deviations in results The following pictures indicate the recommended schemes in establishments of demonstrative areas to compare different thinning rates, the shape and form of crone, different grafting materials and methods Recommended silvicultures treatments : Study of coppicing impact, testimony without thinning, minimum area 1000 m2 Different thinning schemes with the futures trees in grids 1 m; 1,5, 2,3,4, 5 meter; minimum area for each decide variant 1000 m2; number of stems will keep the same, as well as the same Study of number of stems with one, two, three, four or more The arrangements to be monitored for a ten year period is a minimum Establishment and schemes of experiments

Grafting experiment
Methods to be compared:

Grafting methods: A number of considerations must be addressed before attempting grafting;

the grafting (scion) wood, the rootstock and the grafting method

a. summer silent bud grafting in three forms: T form; ringed and window. Time depend on weather conditions from July 15 to august 20; Spring scions grafting: Scions are prepared in January, and are stored based on standards.; rootstock are prepared in the end of April first days of may . Two methods of spring grafting will be compared depend from rootstock dimensions: (1) Inlay Bark Grafting (2) grafting by cutting in middle of stem. Cut of rootstock will be realized in two levels: first cut will be realized 5 days before grafting; second cut will be realized 5 centimeter under the first one, in the grafting day. It is expected to avoid the suckering during grafting process