COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • OCTOBER 2019
Blight-resistant trees focus of
hazelnut field day Growers are tracking progress of planting as it matures
by BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER
CHILLIWACK—Approximately 100 new and established growers attended the BC Hazelnut Growers Association field day at Fraser Valley Hazelnuts in Chilliwack on September 7. The event included visits to
two hazelnut farms with Eastern Filbert Blight-resistant varieties, a pruning
demonstration, updates on markets, varieties and orchard management, and a panel discussion on how to start an orchard. Walter Esau and Helmut Hooge opened their orchards, planted to the Yamhill and Jefferson varieties, to visitors and questions. Both were part of the EFB-resistant variety trials in 2011-2013. The field day was a chance for growers to ask questions and see the new varieties as they mature and produce. Thom O’Dell of Nature Tech
Nursery reviewed EFB- resistant hazelnut production and pollinizer cultivars currently available in BC according to pest and disease resistance, tree characteristics, yield and nut quality. Oregon State University
orchard crops extension specialist Nik Wiman outlined current practices in orchard management and gave a demonstration of pruning in a young orchard. Wiman recommends heading a Jefferson tree at 36 inches, and a Yamhill at 40 inches in the first year. Three to five scaffold branches should be selected for the second year. He advises not to prune when wet, and to prune when closer to bud break just at the end of dormancy for greater success. Pruning to enhance a single trunk originated in Oregon, according to Wiman. “Normally a hazelnut tree
will grow as a bush, but in Oregon the single trunk is favoured for ease of harvest, and it was also done to control bacterial blight,” he says. Wiman recommends
removing watersprouts, the shoots growing off the trunk, while they are small. Suckers that originate underground off the roots are also pruned but can be an advantage if a tree is diseased because the trunk can be cut back and a
new tree can grow from a sucker. Wiman said Oregon
orchards are moving to subsurface drip irrigation, citing less evaporation, no interference with irrigation lines at harvest and less animal damage. Coyotes have damaged drip lines in several Fraser Valley orchards, and some growers are moving towards subsurface drip. Wiman also said that the
current trend to double- density orchards has been revisited because of management and variety changes since this practice was adopted. “The double-density method was based on data from dryland Barcelona trees,” says Wiman. “Eighty percent of 40,000 new acres have been planted to double- density, but most growers would not do it again because it is a lot of work, and the economics do not make sense because the trees are growing faster, they compete sooner and the temporary trees have to be removed sooner.” Instead of removing every
other tree at nine or 10 years, Jefferson and Yamhill branches may begin touching at four or five years, signalling the time to remove those temporary trees so that productivity will remain high in the remaining trees. Wiman stresses caution in applying nutrients. A young tree doesn’t need anything unless there is a problem in an orchard. Plant nutritionist Rick De
Jong from Agro-K Corp. emphasized the importance of testing the orchard through soil tests, tissue tests and sap testing to get a complete picture before considering application of nutrients. Steve Hope of Fraser Valley
Hazelnuts gave an overview of market conditions for the hazelnut industry. “The trade war kept Oregon field prices low last year,” says Hope. “But we found there was a huge demand in the Canadian market and we haven’t even scratched the surface. We were able to sell 65,000 pounds of BC hazelnuts, and we could have sold 20 to 30 times more in BC alone, 50 times more in
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Pruning techniques were discussed at a hazelnut field day in Chilliwack. BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER PHOTO
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