Hazelnut varietal improvement: Italy's mission abroad for the research of new varieties

Published Jul 3, 2024

Tridge summary

A collaborative group consisting of Italia Ortofrutta – National Union, Producers' Organizations, and the University of Perugia embarked on a study trip to Oregon, USA, to explore new hazelnut varieties for trial in Italy. The aim is to enhance the sector's competitiveness by introducing more diverse cultivars that can better adapt to climate changes and improve production quality and quantity. The group, led by Prof. Daniela Farinelli of the University of Perugia, worked closely with Prof. Shawn Mehlenbacher of the Oregon State University's Hazelnut Breeding Program to understand the objectives and implementation of the US genetic improvement program and to evaluate the performance of American varieties.

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Original content

Italia Ortofrutta – National Union together with a group of technicians from Producers' Organizations operating in the hazelnut sector: AGRINOLA, A.O.A, CO.PRO.N.T. ECOLAZIO, EURONOCCIOLA, C.P.N., PIEDMONT ASPROCOR and the University of Perugia carried out a study trip to Oregon, United States with the aim of researching new hazelnut varieties to test in Italy to increase the competitiveness of the sector. The Italian varietal platform is restricted to a modest number of cultivars and new solutions are necessary to adapt to climate changes which occur with greater frequency and intensity such as, for example, late frosts and extreme heat phenomena, as well as to improve the quantity and quality of production. They will be made at the O.P. involved several varietal comparison fields uniformly distributed across the national territory to test the behavior of the cultivars identified during the study trip and of other varieties that the same working group identified through a ...

Source: Agricolae