orchard establishment – Hazelnut Growers' Association of New Zealand

Alan Mathewson

Canterbury

HGA newsletter, August 2003

From 2300 Sheep to 2300 Hazelnut Trees in a month! YOU MUST BE NUTS !!!! was the reaction of some of the relatives when we told them we had purchased a property and were going into Hazelnuts. I had been farming (sheep and a few beef) in the Five Forks downlands area of North Otago for the last 14 years in partnership with Janet. Some years ago

I put in a shelter belt on a paddock near the house with the idea of putting it in Hazelnuts. Local growers Don and Helen Newlands informed me of a field day on his property. I ordered 1200 Hazelnut plants and pollinators from Hazelnut Nurseries and then started looking at where to put them! We decided a separate block from the farm would give more options, so for several months looked around the Oamaru area for a suitable block.

Dave & Bev Null

Blenheim

HGA newsletter, winter 2003

In this issue our growers’ corner takes a look at the hazelnut operation at the Nutt Ranch in Blenheim, and we are listening to Bev and Dave Null.

This property was purchased in 1995 as 8ha of pasture land. The land was purchased with the growing of hazelnuts in mind. The land is marginal for horticulture use and is in a dry area of Marlborough.

Pollenizer management in a hazelnut orchard

S.A. Mehlenbacher and A.N. Miller – Oregon State University, 1988

HGA newsletter, Winter 2003

Three factors must be considered in choosing pollinizer cultivars: 1) the amount of viable pollen produced, 2) compatibility, and 3) time of pollen shed.

The amount of viable pollen produced by a hazelnut tree is largely a function of the number of catkins on the tree and the viability of the pollen produced. Some cultivars set pollen in abundance Others typically set very few catkins. Some cultivars drop their catkins prior to pollen shed. Since one good Daviana catkin is estimated to produce 4 million pollen grains, the amount of pollen produced by a single pollinizer tree is tremendous.

Ted Kempe

Amberley, North Canterbury

HGA newsletter, Autumn 2003

In this issue our growers’ corner takes a look at Hazelwood Hazelnuts, and in we are listening to Ted Kempe of Amberley, who is one of the pioneer leaders in New Zealand’s young hazelnut industry. Ted has kindly given us the statistics of his operations.

Bill and Marie Ellery

Swannanoa, North Canterbury

HGA newsletter – Summer 2003

It is important that New Zealand growers of Hazelnuts develop an understanding of what is happening within our industry at the orchard level. Much useful information could be tapped by listening to each HGANZ member talk about what he or she has done which has worked well in their orchard….. or hasn’t worked so well…. equipment that they use or would like to use to make their operation more efficient… or whether they have aspirations to produce Hazelnuts for a living or just as a hobby….or pass advice on to the rest of us.

Each issue of our newsletter will try to touch base with a different grower to see what they are up to in their Hazelnut operation. In this issue we are listening to Bill and Marie Ellery of Rangiora.