Effect of hazelnut growing methods on the growth structure and crown habit

Abstract

The study was carried out over 1999 – 2006 at the Experimental Station in the town of Kardzhali on two hazelnut cultivars: Tonda Romana (C. avellana L.) of vigorous growth and Ran Trapezundski (C. maxima Mill.) of poor growth. The experiment included parallel studies of the variants: bush-trained plants, single-stem trained own-rooted trees, singlestem trained trees obtained by grafting on seedling rootstocks of the Turkish filbert form No. 7-23 of C. colurna L. species. The results showed that in the juvenile period of hazelnut plant development the method of growing did not exert any significant effect on the growth structure, the type of fruiting wood and the indices characterizing the crown habit (shape, density and deviation angle of the skeleton branches).

The type of growing was determined by moderately vigorous shoots in the hazelnut cultivars Tonda Romana and Ran Trapezundski from the third to the eighth year of their cultivation.

The highest reproductive capacity in Ran Trapezundski cultivar was exhibited by moderately vigorous and weak shoots, while in Tonda Romana cultivar – by the poor growing and short ones. The interdependency of the catkin quantity and the different types of shoots was established neither in Tonda Romana nor in Ran Trapezundski cultivars.