Consortium Presents at Ontario
Hazelnut Conference

I represented the Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium at the Annual Hazelnut Symposium in Brantford, Ontario, in late March and gave two presentations—Hazelnut R&D in the U.S. and Nontraditional Uses of Hazelnuts. I also toured the hazelnut research facilities and fields at the University of Guelph.  

There's a growing demand for hazelnuts in the area because Ferrero Rocher has a large (and expanding) plant in Brantford that produces hazelnut confections and Nutella.

Parts of southern Ontario (adjacent to Lake Erie) have a relatively mild climate that may favor large-scale hazelnut production using cultivars released by Oregon State University. It’s clear that given the rapidly growing markets for hazelnuts in North America and worldwide, there’s an acute need to expand the production zone beyond this narrow belt along the lake, and to create new hybrids that would be better adapted to the climate there and elsewhere.

The Consortium’s climatic adaption work through extensive breeding and testing efforts will provide cultivars to support commercial hazelnut production across eastern North America.

Other presenters at the conference included British Columbia hazelnut growers, the University of Guelph, Erie Innovation and Commercialization, the Ontario government and Ferrero Rocher Canada. —Dr. Scott Josiah, Director, Nebraska Forest Service, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Dr. Shawn Mehlenbacher (left) walked members of the Hybrid
Hazelnut Consortium through OSU hazelnut fields.

Meet the Partners: Oregon State is a Leader in Hazelnut Research

When members of the Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium met in Corvallis, Ore., for the annual meeting, we were able to see first-hand the work being done by Oregon State University researchers and Oregon hazelnut growers.

Oregon State began hazelnut research in 1969, shortly after eastern filbert blight (EFB), a disease that kills European hazelnut plants, was discovered in Oregon. Dr. Shawn Mehlenbacher, professor of horticulture, works on developing EFB-resistant hazelnuts, microsatellite marker development and DNA markers for EFB resistance. His work also includes importing and evaluating hazelnut germplasm from around the world to increase the world's largest hazelnut germplasm collection.  

Oregon State plants about 4,000 seedlings annually on 65 acres at OSU's Smith Field Farm. After years of intense screening, the 4,000 plants are whittled down to 25-30 possibilities for the breeding program. The best trees are layered, banded and sent to the nursery for a year, then placed in a field trial. Nut data is taken in years 3-7.

For more information about Oregon State's hazelnut program, visit hort.oregonstate.edu/faculty-staff/mehlenbacher

Tours of Oregon hazelnut industry sites included visits to
hazelnut propagators, processors, and retailers (below).

          Spring Planting Season Has Begun

The greenhouse is coming alive on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln East Campus!

Hybrid seedlings grown from Oregon State and Rutgers seeds are being moved from the germination trays to one-gallon nursery cans this week. These seedlings were planted the week of March 5 and will be field tested at Horning Farm starting this fall and in spring 2013.

Older seedlings will be field planted at Horning this spring. More than 3,000 seedlings will be planted at Horning Farm for the next round of trials.  -- Troy Pabst, forestry properties manager, Nebraska Forest Service

  

Did You Know . . . ? 

→  Hazelnuts, or filberts, are the fifth most popular tree nut crop in the world behind cashews, almonds, walnuts and chestnuts. 

→  Commercial production is restricted to areas with climates moderated by large bodies of water. The Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium is working to produce cold-hardy, heat-tolerant hybrids, which will expand the growing area.

→  The U.S. produces about 4% of the world crop behind Turkey (70%) and Italy (18%). 

→  99% of the U.S. crop is grown in Oregon's Willamette Valley. 

→  Hazelnuts naturally grow as a large bush, but are pruned to a single trunk in the U.S. to facilitate mechanical harvesting.

→  Hazelnuts are sold in the shell (5-10% of the world crop) or as kernels, and are used in candies and other products, like Nutella, a blend of chocolate and hazelnut.

→  Nutella was created in the 1940s by Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker in Italy, where cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing. Ferrero Inc. also produces Ferrero Roche and other confections. 

→  Ferrero also makes Tic Tacs. 

→  A 2007 study showed that hazelnut shells and leaves contain taxanes, which are used to produce Taxol, a cancer-fighting drug.

→  The Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium is looking at other uses for hazelnut byproducts as well, including using shells for high-protein animal feed and oil for biofuel. Our analysis shows that hazelnuts can produce twice the amount of oil per acre as soybeans.

Wanted: Wild Hazelnuts!

To help expand the genetic diversity of the hazelnuts in our breeding program, we’re asking citizens to be on the lookout for American hazelnuts (Corylus americana) that are growing naturally. They likely will be found within their natural range, which is from the Great Plains eastward, except in Florida.

If you find a hazelnut bush that's 8-15 feet tall, please email us at hazelnuts@arborday.org with the subject line: Wild American Hazelnut Found. Include your name, location of the hazelnut bush, height and width of the bush, diameter and weight of nuts if found and, if possible, photos of flowers, nuts or leaves. After reviewing your information, we'll contact you and let you know if we would like a sample of your wild hazelnut and the proper procedure for sampling.

Besides acquiring wild American hazelnuts, Consortium members have collected hazelnuts in Turkey and the Georgia Republic where hazelnuts are plentiful, and have access to USDA plant germplasm and various private sources. 

Collecting unrelated hazelnuts from around the world and combining the best traits of each will help us create cold hardy, disease-resistant, drought tolerant, high-yielding hazelnut plants. 

For more information about this project, visit our website at www. arborday.org/programs/hazelnuts/consortium.

Here’s what to look for: 

American hazelnut involucres with nuts inside

Leaves of the American hazelnut

American hazelnut leaves in the fall

Hazelnuts Are Heart-Healthy & Delicious

We roasted some of last year's hazelnut crop this week -- yum! We placed them in a 350 oven for 15 minutes and they were perfect (watch closely though, as your oven may vary). After roasting, rub the hazelnuts in a towel while still warm to remove the skins.

Hazelnuts are a rich source of protein, vitamin E, folate, B vitamins and arginine, and are one of the best nut sources of heart-healthy mono- and poly-unsaturated fats.

Here are three more easy recipes!

Seasoned Roasted Hazelnuts

• 2 cups Oregon hazelnuts
• 1/6 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• dash Tabasco

Melt butter in saucepan; stir in salt, Worcestershire, garlic powder, Tabasco and hazelnuts. Turn into shallow pan. Bake in 275 oven for 20 minutes. (Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board)

Honey-Spiced Oregon Hazelnuts

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1-1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 cups roasted Oregon hazelnuts

In a saute pan over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add garlic, cumin, Tabasco and honey. Stir the mixture, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Do not burn. Add the nuts and stir to coat well. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or foil. Spread the coated nuts in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Serve as a snack or as a garnish for soups or salads. Yield: about 4 cups. (Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board)

 Hazelnut, Brie & Apple Appetizer

• 1 cup roasted & chopped Oregon hazelnuts
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 8 ounces brie cheese (rind trimmed), room temperature
• 1 tart apple, grated

Blend well the cream cheese with the brie cheese. Add the hazelnuts and apple; blend. Spread on melba toast or crackers. (Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board) 

 

 

New Consortium Test IDs EFB Sooner

EFB causes severe cankering and eventual
death of hazelnut plants.

Hazelnuts have the potential to be a major crop across many parts of the U.S. and southern Canada. Several characteristics contribute to this potential —they’re a perennial crop requiring few inputs once established, they use less water and fossil fuel than annual crops, are drought resistant, can be grown on sloping land, and are adaptable to marginal soils.

One of the major barriers preventing widespread hazelnut production in the U.S. is susceptibility to eastern filbert blight (EFB), a fungal disease that kills European hazelnuts. Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium member Dr. Thomas Molnar at Rutgers has developed a real-time, PCR-based test to detect Anisogramma anomala (the pathogen that causes EFB) at an early stage. 

It was tested last spring and summer and found to be very effective, cutting the time to determine whether a plant is infected with EFB by as much as 18 months. Using this test will accelerate the Consortium’s research by allowing us to focus attention and resources on plants identified at an early stage as very likely to be EFB resistant.

This is a major step and means that more resistant plants will be in fields sooner to be evaluated for cold hardiness, heat tolerance, kernel quality and yield, and pest resistance.