Milestone planting for Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium

The Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium recently planted an acre of second-generation hazelnuts at the Horning State Farm near Plattsmouth, Neb. The Arbor Day Foundation, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Rutgers University and Oregon State University are members of the consortium.

The planting was a significant milestone for the consortium in that it represents more than 10 years of research from each institution. The goal of the consortium is to create a world-leading research and breeding program to turn hazelnuts into a large commercial crop.

It’s the hope of the consortium to expand the growing region of hazelnuts to include much of the United States and parts of Canada. Right now, 99 percent of all hazelnuts grown in the U.S. are produced in the Wilmette Valley of Oregon. The Oregon crop represents between 3-5 percent of the world’s hazelnut crop.

Second generation hazelnuts are being planted in Nebraska and New Jersey to determine how different climates affect how the plant grows and produces nuts, and to test the hardiness of the hybrids.

There are many benefits to planting hazelnuts. They require less water and fossil energy to produce large amounts of crops, they are a perennial crop and are highly adaptable to poorer soil, potentially making it an ideal crop for marginal agriculture lands.

To learn more about the Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium, go to http://www.arborday.org/programs/hazelnuts/consortium/.