The trial of grafting the Jefferson cultivar onto Whiteheart is nearing completion. This consisted of grafting Jefferson scions and buds (Thank you Murray and Pete) on existing Whiteheart trees and suckers at Michael and Jenny Petherick’s place in West Melton.
Given hazels are generally hard to graft, we developed a heating band set at 27C, and tested this method against a control group. The grafting method was a kerf graft. OSU hazel propagator David Smith suggests standard bark/rind grafts are not fit for hazels due to the sap surge in spring.
We conducted this in July ‘25 for the first group, followed by December for the second. This was to repeat the trial structure at a different time of year, when ambient temperatures may have affected results and rendered the heat bands obsolete. We will then compare this with summer bud grafting that was done in late January. Stay tuned for the final results to be published over the next few months.
This project was funded by the NZ Tree Crops Association with the support of plant material by HGA members. And a huge thanks to Michael and Jenny for hosting this trial.
Cheers!
Caleb Butcher
Left photo: setting up the experiment, Caleb Butcher is in green.
Right photo: a close up of the heated band on a winter’s day.
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