The European hazelnut in Chile: Large areas, big problems. New solution for harvesting mature hazelnut trees

A rustic crop that can be manageable over large tracts with few personnel is a long-standing dream in agriculture. The European hazelnut has arrived and is here to stay, no one doubts it. However, we are seeing that this crop is not immune to a national problem that has affected various species, which initially looked promising, but then, year after year, the results showed different results. Hazelnut cultivation is indeed possible to manage at relatively low costs and without affecting too much the extensions of the plantation involved. But when the harvest arrives, everything changes, since waiting for the fruit to fall accuses various conditions for the dried fruit, mainly due to the annual climate. But an additional problem that damages the trees has appeared in the soils of Chile, and that is that our dust is more volatile than in many places, so a dry sweep allows contaminating the trees with insects and fungi that should remain in the soil. and not on the leaves. Added to ...