Different behavior of hazelnut cultivars under the ecological conditions of the Oltenia region, Romania

The ecological conditions from Oltenia Region situated into the SW of Romania are suitable for intensive hazelnut growing. During 2000-2016 up to 40 hazelnut cultivars of different geographical origins have been studied at UCv-SCDP Vâlcea in order to establish the most suitable ones for the local ecological conditions. The results obtained in case of 22 cultivars are presented. The hazelnut cultivars have been tested in trials with planting distances of 5×3 m (667 trees ha(-1)) and managed without irrigation. Phenology, precocity, yielding and susceptibility to main pest and diseases have been recorded. The cultivars exhibited different behavior regarding flowering time, growth and yielding. Female flowers usually bloom between January 10 to March 20 and the male flowers bloom from January 5 to March 17. In some years, the blooming time even starts in December for cultivars like ‘Tonda Romana’ and ‘Red Lambert’. According to the fruit sizes the hazelnut cultivars were grouped into two classes (nut size index larger than 18 mm and over 3 g in weight and size index between 16 to 18 mm and less than 3 g in weight). The cultivars were grouped into two classes (11 cultivars group(-1)) The most productive cultivars with large fruits proved to be: ‘Ennis’, ‘Vâlcea 22’ and ‘Butler’ and in the case of those with smaller fruits the highest yields were recorded for ‘Romavel’, ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’, ‘Clark’, and ‘Lewis. Taking into account the adaptability to the ecological conditions, constant yielding, susceptibility to pests and diseases and fruit quality the most suitable cultivars for the study area proved to be the cultivars with large fruits like ‘Ennis’, ‘Vâlcea 22’ and ‘Uriașe de Vâlcea’. From the group of cultivars with medium size fruits the following emphasized good behavior: ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’, ‘Romavel’, ‘Arutela’, ‘Clark’ and ‘Lewis’.