Author: Chris Robinson

Here are a few fun graphs about hazelnuts and nuts in New Zealand.

Data were taken from the Figure NZ website (https://figure.nz/), which collects data from various sources (like the Census). This is one of those websites which is so much fun to poke around, with untold trivia, but also a serious side. As with all data, use it as a guide, not absolute truth.

Figure 1 No surprises here – Canterbury and Otago lead the way with the greatest area planted in hazelnuts.

Figure 2 We are dominated by the walnut-growers. And minisule by world standards – AI reckons there is 725,000 Ha of hazelnuts in Turkey, 94,500 in Italy and 2,500 in Australia.

Figure 3 You can check out what others are growing in your district. This is the data for Selwyn District.

4-8 August 2025, Beijing, China

Any members interested in attending the Congress? Maybe you are already travelling and could tack a trip to Beijing on to your itinerary. Submissions for talks and posters are due 8 February, 2025, and after that the organisers will release a program of which specialists will present their studies, plus any relevent events or visits.

https://www.ishs.org/symposium/812

Many thanks to all those members who completed the HGANZ 2024 Harvest Survey. We are collating the data ready for inclusion in funding applications. Grower comments about the industry, what areas they need more information about, and what they would like R&D to focus on have been circulated to the Committee. These will form the basis for future work, whether that is R&D or pulling together information for a Fact Sheet.

The winner of the $100 grocery voucher was drawn live at our Committee meeting. They are one of our anonymous responders and it won’t give anything away if we say they are in the mid-Canterbury area.  Congratulations!

The HGANZ Research Sub-Committee had its inaugural meeting on the 2nd of December.  The aim of the Sub-Committee is to undertake hazelnut research that will improve yields and thus profitablity for the industry. There are multiple avenues for research, but the key will be matching research topics with the aims of the various funding organisations.

The HGANZ members are Alison Bentley, Murray Redpath, Michael Petherick and Pete Barrowclough, and from Lincoln University, Dr Clive Kaiser.  

Clive is an Associate Professor in the Agricultural Sciences Department, specialising in fruit production, with a particular interest in pre- and post-harvest physiology.  For more information, check out his profile at:

https://researchers.lincoln.ac.nz/clive.kaiser

Clive has identified a student interested in doing a PhD on hazelnuts.  Currently, the student is in Oregon, working on an Honors [American spelling] project with Nik Wyman.  We will keep you updated on this possible development.

In the next Newsletter, an update on the citizen-science project of “radical pruning”. This was demonstrated at a Field Day at the Lincoln University hazelnut orchard in 2022.

Summer Field Days will be held in Alexandra, Central Otago, 22-23rd February 2025

21st February, Friday evening

For those that arrive on early on Friday evening, meet at the Monteiths Brewery Bar (26 Centennial Ave) around 7pm.

22nd February, Saturday

Begin the day with a trip to the supermarket or cafe to pick up something for the shared lunch.

Gather at 9.30am, then set out for Russell and June Aitken’s orchard at 765 Roxburgh East Rd, Roxburgh East. This will be a 2hr visit, so that everyone has time to see the whole operation from orchard to shed, and plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Depart at 12pm, travelling to Ross and Lynn Smith’s orchard at 106 Dalmuir Rd, Ettrick. Begin the visit with a shared lunch, before spending another 2hr exploring the Smith’s operation from orchard to shed.

Depart at 4pm, travelling to either a cherry or apple orchard (details to be finalised).

Dinner at 7pm. Multiple options for dining out in Alexandra, although quite expensive. If dining in is ruled out, then perhaps gather with takeaways at the local park.

23rd Frebruary, Sunday

Start the day with a cafe breakfast at 8.30am then … (more details to come)

It is with pride and pleasure that we present the final report “Growing Hazelnuts – A New Zealand Field Trial” written by Alison Bentley, HGANZ Committee member, and farmer who owns a 6.2 Ha block near Rotorua.

Alison has a significant background in horticulture, farming and complex growing systems, as well as business management. She has a Diploma in Horticulture, a graduate Diploma in Resource Management, a post-graduate Certificate in Commerce, is a Kellogg Scholar – and is contemplating a Masters in Horticulture. The farm is run on regenerative and organic principals, starting with soil health, which flows through to plant and animal health. More details of Alison’s farm and farming practices can be found at https://tikiterefarm.co.nz/ .

The background to Alison’s hazelnut journey begins with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and its plans to divert landowners away from animal farming because of the high rate of nutrient leaching into the Rotorua lake systems. Alison was interested in finding other ways to use her land, reduce nutrient leaching, and produce a commercial crop. She did her research, and decided that hazelnuts were a crop with potential. She submitted a proposal to the Low Nitrogen Land Use Fund Project (LNLUF), and it was accepted. Funding was awarded for a five year field trial (later extended to seven years).

The first objective was to determine if hazelnuts would grow in the Rotorua catchment. The second was to compare Whiteheart with the Tonda Romana and Jefferson cultivars. Collection of pollination data was the third objective, and the fourth was to investigate the effect of irrigation on hazelnut production. Finally, her orchard had to be available for public enquiry, and the results be freely accessible.

Below you will find the link to her report. We hope you will take the time to read it and enjoy the transformation of a field into a micro-orchard. Along the way, Alison has brought her academic and practical background to bear on the many questions facing the hazelnut industry. This is also the story of one person with a question, who set out to find an answer and made something happen.

https://www.rotorualakes.co.nz/vdb/document/1978