COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • OCTOBER 2018
Hazelnut renewal enters second phase Gov’t money available to growers
by BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER
CHILLIWACK – New
growers, a new processor, new nurseries, new trees and new funding – the hazelnut industry is definitely growing in the right direction. A second intake of the BC
hazelnut renewal program funding was announced at the fall field day of the BC Hazelnut Growers Association (BCHGA) on September 22. Approximately 100 new and established growers packed the Fraser Valley Hazelnuts processing facility to learn how to keep their newly planted orchards healthy and profitable. The government launched
the hazelnut renewal program in July, helping orchardists plant Eastern Filbert Blight (EFB)-resistant trees to revitalize the province’s hazelnut sector. The program makes $300,000 available to growers over three years. The minimum eligible planting acreage is one acre. Projects can include expansion of an existing orchard, but the total contiguous area of the existing and new orchard must be at least five acres. The program deadline is November 15. To keep the newly planted
orchards in optimal health, provincial plant pathologist Siva Sabaratnam and research assistant Ben Drugmand are studying emerging diseases in new hazelnut orchards with two years of Canadian Agricultural Partnership funding totalling $100,000. Sabaratnam says growers
have more than EFB to worry about. Good orchard management, scouting for disease, diagnosis, pruning diseased tissue and preventative spraying are all important, as even EFB- resistant varieties can become infected with EFB if conditions are right. Sabaratnam noted provincial entomologist Tracy Hueppelsheuser is trapping and identifying insects in hazelnut orchards such as Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs and filbert worms. Plant nutritionist Rick
DeJong from Agro-K emphasized the importance of good plant nutrition, through both a granular root- based program and a secondary foliar application to maintain good plant health. Fraser Valley Hazelnuts’
processing facility has been owned by Don Hooge and his family since 2012. It is a receiving station for George Packing Co. of Oregon, but recently upgraded its equipment. Last year, most local hazelnuts were processed in the facility, resulting in growers receiving 30 cents more per pound than those shipped to Oregon. Two orchards were
available for tours. Both were part of the EFB-resistant variety trials and were good opportunities for growers to see EFB-resistant varieties and ask questions. Walter Esau and Helmut Hooge were also part of a panel discussion later in the day, along with BCHGA president Neal Tebrinke. EFB-resistant trees were planted in 2011 and 2013. The panelists agree that the Jefferson variety has bigger nuts and the trees are more upright. Yamhill trees spread out more, and the nuts are smaller. Sacajawea nuts are smaller, too, and the trees are more susceptible to EFB. Growers are now more attentive to scouting and spraying to control EFB. Tebrinke and Hooge said
Sacajawea should only be used as a pollinizer. Hooge says that if the Fraser Valley removed all EFB-infected trees, Sacajawea would probably do better. Its nuts typically fetch a better price. “The nuts do have more
flavour, and perhaps they would do better in a drier climate,” says Tebrinke. More EFB-resistant varieties
are now available in BC, including Doris, Felix, McDonald, Wepster and York. New grower Heather Gilliland of Langley appreciates the advice of the more established growers. She’s especially inspired by those who are well into retirement, who have gone through EFB, orchard removal and replanting, and still look
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Walter Esau, far right, opened his hazelnut orchard for tours during the BC Hazelnut Growers Association field day last month. BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER PHOTO
forward with optimism. “I see it as an investment that is going to grow,” says Gilliland. “I look to this as a retirement project.” Gilliland first considered
hazelnuts four years ago after attending the Pacific Agriculture Show in Abbotsford. She has since attended several BCHGA field days. She planted a field of Jefferson last fall with pollinizing varieties Eta, Theta and Gamma.
Replanting? New Orchard? We have all the latest blight resistant varieties from Oregon including:
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604.823.4713 fax: 604.823.4749
43583 Adams Road Chilliwack, BC V2R 4L1
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Diane Murphy 604-504-4980
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