Is it possible to grow hazelnuts in the Novgorod region?

It's easy to grow hazelnuts, but you need to know some important points, without which it is impossible to get a full harvest.

Hazelnut is a monoecious dioecious wind-pollinated (cross-pollinated) plant, and the yield of cross-pollinated plants largely depends on climatic conditions during flowering and pollination measures, as well as measures to preserve flowers from damage by spring frosts, therefore, we will consider these features.

Feature I. For all types of hazelnutscharacterized by non-simultaneous maturation female and male flowers. Non-simultaneous maturation of male and female genital organs is very common. It is the most widespread cross-pollination device in the plant kingdom. It is called dichogamy - (in some cases, the stamens develop first, and the anthers are opened at a time when the pistil is still underdeveloped and its stigma is unable to accept fertilizing pollen grains and vice versa).

Like animals, plants avoid the combination of closely related sex elements and therefore more often resort to cross-pollination, the result of which is cross-fertilization (allogamy). In this case, the stigma is pollinated by the fertile pollen of another plant of the same species, and its own pollen is used in exchange for pollination of stigmas of other flowers. If pollen of another species of the same genus gets on the stigma during cross-pollination, fertilization nevertheless often takes place and hybrids or hybrids are obtained. The benefits of cross-pollination are so great that plants have developed many different adaptations that contribute to such pollination, and in some cases even make it the only possible one. Most, however, forms with cross-pollination retain the ability to self-pollination (resorting to it in rare cases).

Conclusion : For the successful cultivation of hazelnuts, it is necessary to have plants of different varieties and plants of seed origin in the neighborhood on the site, which will pollinate each other. Especially varieties with a long (extended) flowering (dusting) period of male catkins. The more nearby plants of the same species, the higher the likelihood of inter-pollination. This means that pistils ripen on one bush, and anthers on stamens ripen on the other at this time. It is better if these plants are taken from different places or different varieties. It means, to get a good harvest, you should plant at least 4-6 x varieties... This is a prerequisite for this culture.

Feature II. In many hazelnut hybrids, pollen is semi - or completely sterile, and some have predominantly female flowers. Most varieties are self-fertile.

Conclusion : Additional pollination is required to obtain a sustainable crop. For this purpose, varieties are selected - pollinators, giving a large amount of pollen (for every 10 bushes, 1-2 pollinating bushes). Having varieties on the site - pollinators - you will always have a good harvest. If the variety is self-fertile or partially self-fertile, then be sure to choose the right variety for it - a pollinator or a plant of seed origin. The main thing is that it should match your variety in terms of flowering time and be at a distance of no more than 10-15 m from the pollinated variety and always on the leeward side. However, even if the variety is self-fertile, it is also good to choose another pollinator variety for better fruiting: the yield will be higher, so it is advisable to plant several different varieties on the site.

In the experiments of the Mliev Institute of Pomology named after L.P. Simirenko UAAN selected the best pollinators for many valuable varieties common in Ukraine, which are: for the Klinidny variety - the Chocolate, Stepnoy 83, Ganja and Leshchina ordinary varieties; for varieties Lozovsky spherical and Oktyabrsky - grade Ganja, form P4M30 and common hazel; for the Chocolate variety - the wedge-shaped, Lozovsky spherical, Kharkov 3 and ordinary hazel varieties; for the Stepnoy 83 variety - the Lozovsky spherical and Kulyasty varieties; for the Spherical variety - the Ganja, Lozovsky spherical, Oktyabrsky varieties, the P4M30 form and the ordinary hazel; for the Ganja variety - the Chocolate, Lozovsky spherical and common hazel varieties. All mentioned varieties bear fruit well in a collection garden under free pollination conditions.

A large number of self-incompatibility genes and the similarity of the genealogies of many hazelnut varieties make it difficult to select the best pollinators, which are most successfully solved when used as plant pollinators. Common hazel... The genetic diversity of this species extends not only to genes that control morphological traits, but also to genes for self-incompatibility. Due to this the use of common hazel as an additional source of pollen is quite justified and contributes to the annual productivity of the hazelnut garden, and in years with freezing of the catkins of pollinating varieties, it is the pollen of the common hazel that ensures the fertilization of all varieties of hazelnuts. This guarantees the stability of fruiting.

Feature III. To begin with, you need to remember 2 important concepts concerning all fruit plantations without exception. The bulk of gardeners often confuse concepts. winter hardiness and frost resistance... But these are completely different things. Frost resistance is the ability of a variety to withstand certain subzero temperatures. Winter hardiness is a complex concept. It includes frost resistance, restorative ability, or, more simply, the vitality of the variety and the ability to withstand temperature changes.

Hazelnuts, thanks to breeders, tolerate t = −25-30 * С without additional shelter. Male inflorescences are less winter-hardy earrings than female fruit buds. Often, catkins freeze slightly before flowering. Male inflorescences are laid and formed in the summer and autumn of the previous year and winter fully formed, ready for flowering. The branches brought into the room in winter begin to gather dust, and therefore in winter, brief warming causes vigorous activity in the catkins. The frosts that follow the warm days destroy them. That is, the winter hardiness of male inflorescences of many varieties is insufficient.

Female inflorescences are formed much later; by winter, female flowers are very poorly developed, most often they winter in the stage of growth of tubercles. They are surrounded by thick scales and leaf buds, so they are less exposed to temperature fluctuations and do not start growing during warming, and therefore they freeze less often.

Knowing all this, you can help the plant to produce annual harvests of nuts. For a guaranteed safe overwintering of plants, it is recommended to bend the lower branches with catkins to the ground in the fall, fix them and cover them with snow. All winter they will be under the snow, like under a fur coat. Sharp fluctuations in air temperature will not affect them. In the spring, do not forget to free the branches from the snow captivity, and then the men's earrings will fulfill their purpose. For better pollination, it is necessary to bend the branches precisely from the side of the prevailing winds, and the wind itself will do the rest.

Conclusion: We plant varieties in the neighborhood that are distinguished by high frost resistance and winter hardiness of male inflorescences.

Feature IV. Hazelnut is a wind-pollinated plant, therefore, it is necessary to take into account the prevailing direction of the winds at the time of flowering of the plant.

Conclusion: 1) taking into account the above, we plant the pollinator on the leeward side... 2) additional pollination of hazelnuts is helped by pruning during the flowering period of the plant: spontaneous shaking at the time of cutting the branches contributes to the active dispersal of pollen.

Feature V. A characteristic feature of hazel trees is that after flowering, their ovaries begin to develop only after 1.5 - 2 months, i.e. the fruits begin to form not in April, but in June - as a result, 4.5 - 5 months pass from the moment of pollination to the ripening of the kernel. And when the buds had already blossomed and the growth of shoots with pollinated female flowers began the crop can be destroyed by late return frosts up to - 3 * С... (Although the pollen tubes reach the base of the column rather quickly, fertilization itself occurs only 2-3 weeks after pollination).

Conclusion: bears hazelnuts annually.However, the weather favorable for abundant fruiting in the Middle Lane happens once every 2 - 4 years and frosts during flowering are no exception. After all the main danger for hazelnuts is not winter frosts, but spring frosts. At rest, plants are able to withstand low temperatures, but from sudden spring frosts, buds, flowers and young shoots can die. The sensitivity of the plant to low temperatures depends on the degree of bud opening - the further the bud development progresses, the greater the danger. In winter, the pollen in male catring inflorescences is not damaged even at t = –30 ° C, but during spring flowering it can only withstand t = −3 −5 ° C. In winter, female hazelnut inflorescences can withstand frosts at t ≥ –30 ° C, during flowering they can withstand t = –8 –9 ° C, and a fertilized ovary only at t = –3 ° C. Although the permissible threshold of critical temperatures for other fruit crops is even lower, nevertheless, urgent measures to protect the future harvest cannot be avoided. (Let's take an apple tree as an example: a blossoming flower bud dies at –3.5 ° C, for buds –3 ° C is destructive, blossoming buds cannot withstand –2 ° C, at the stage of petals falling, –1.5 ° C turns out to be fatal, but ovaries are killed by a temperature of –1 ° C.)

This is one of the big problems for gardeners and therefore we will take a closer look at it. With the arrival of heat, the time of flowering comes - a crucial period for fruit crops. At this time, late spring frosts are possible. Observations show that the greatest harm to hazelnuts is caused by frosts at the time of ovary formation. A drop in temperature below −3 ° C will kill the crop. The probability of the onset of freezing can be determined by the following criteria. A sharp drop in temperature in the afternoon, a quiet, windless and cloudless clear night, the absence of evening dew, dry air, as well as the upcoming weather can be judged by the behavior of the hazelnut itself. If the stigmas are hidden in the kidney, and the earrings have shrunk, decreasing by 1/2, then wait for frost; if they show themselves in all their glory, it will be warm.

The protection of all fruit plants, without exception, from late spring frosts is an urgent problem for orchards not only in the Middle Belt. So this is not only our problem and not only with hazelnuts.

Spring frost protection options

1. The most effective way to protect yourself is small-drop sprinkling... At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that fine intense rain covers the entire surface of the flowering plantations throughout the entire period of frost. Sprinkling protects flowers and ovaries from frost damage even at temperatures of -4–5 ° C. Sprinkling is based on the fact that when it freezes, water generates heat and thus protects the flowers. Spraying must be completed 1-2 hours before sunrise, otherwise the plants, thawing under the influence of sunlight, will turn black and die.

If the frost has done its job, then before sunrise, until the green parts of the plant have thawed, it is necessary to sprinkle them abundantly with water. Under the influence of cold water, the plants will gradually move away, and the frost will not cause them any harm. With prolonged spraying, the branches may become covered with ice, and therefore props should be placed under the weak branches in advance. In this case, do not forget about effective drainage of the soil, otherwise it may become waterlogged, which will lead to serious damage to the roots.

2. Smoke - the most common way to protect fruit plants from frost. The use of smoke is based on the fact that when the material is burned, a curtain of smoke and particles of water vapor is formed. Smoke, being a poor conductor of heat, prevents cooling of the surface layers of the soil and retains heat in it. From the use of smoke, the air temperature rises by 2-3 ° C and more.

However, this method gives a positive result only in clear calm weather and with prolonged use. It is important to first determine the direction of the smoke spread.Then arrange heaps for smoke. They are laid, starting with the installation of the stake and covering it with straw, wood chips, brushwood (highly flammable material). After that, the pile is covered with manure, leaves and earth on top and ignited. The pile should burn slowly for 5-6 hours. They are made 1-2 per one hundred square meters, placing at least 1.5-2 m from the tree. It is important to correctly identify the onset of smoke. It starts if the air temperature drops to + 1 ° C and continues to fall. If, half an hour after sunset, the temperature has not dropped below + 1.5 ° C, the smoke of the fires is postponed until the next time.

3. Foliar dressing flowering plants with minerals. It improves their nutrition and increases the concentration of cell sap, which increases the resistance of fruit plantations to freezing. Foliar dressing is carried out by spraying in the evening or 2-3 hours before the onset of frost. The solution is prepared from potash and phosphorus mineral fertilizers (3-4% potassium sulfate and 4-5% superphosphate).

4. Non-woven covering material also helps to preserve the harvest during the bad spring weather.

5. It is necessary to try to choose varieties with increased winter hardiness of fruit buds, as well as varieties with a later flowering period of plants or long-flowering varieties.

Feature VI. Successful pollination largely depends on weather conditions, for example, prolonged rains during flowering interfere with the spread of pollen in wind-pollinated plants... This leads to the mass death of pollen and in such years the yield is sharply reduced.

Conclusion: Apply artificial pollination with selected pollen (pollination is a chemical process and it is in our power to regulate it). More about pollination ...

AE Moiseev from the Moscow region already successfully applied artificial pollination about 20 years ago. In this case, it is necessary to pre-collect the male earrings with twigs before they become dusty, put in a clean paper bag and in the refrigerator, where the pollen retains the ability to germinate for 2-3 weeks. You can't keep pollen in the sun for even a few minutes, it dies. The package is stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of about 0 degrees. When the weather is good, you need to put the branches with earrings in a bottle of water on parchment paper at night. Pollen will fall there, collect it in a bag and gently apply it to the stigmas of the pistils with a soft watercolor brush. Manual pollination should be carried out in the morning before the sun appears or in cloudy weather. For small hazelnut bushes, this method is convenient and reliable. It takes very little time to pollinate a flowering bush - 15-20 minutes. Or the second option for adult trees: prepare the pollen (as with manual pollination), collect it, mix it with water, fill the spray bottle and early in the morning, or in cloudy (dry) weather, carry out pollination - spraying.

Feature VII. Hazelnuts have a powerful fibrous root system. As with many cultures for walnut, the presence of mycorrhiza is characteristic... A cover of fungal hyphae is formed around the small roots, that is, special soil fungi that can replace the suction hairs of the root and additionally take on other protective functions. In the rhizosphere (around active roots), a specific microflora develops, consisting of hyphae of soil fungi living on the root surface. Mycorrhizal fungi belong to the group - symbiophytes. This is a symbiosis (cohabitation) of fungi and higher plants. In the process of mutually beneficial cooperation, the tree gives the mushrooms sugar and starch up to 10%, and the mushrooms - moisture and nutrients (phosphates).

In addition, mycorrhiza prevents the infection of tree roots by pathogenic microorganisms, accumulates large amounts of heavy metals (where they are in excess), and creates a buffer against adverse influences. Mycorrhiza has the greatest effect if the environment in which the planting is carried out is associated with stress for the seedling: lack of moisture (drought), lack of nutrients, low pH, high concentration of heavy metals, etc.

So, summarizing the information, mycorrhiza:

Significant expansion of access to nutrients (including the possibility of obtaining high molecular weight nutrition) and water;

Redistribution of excess substances within the plant community “connected” to mycorrhiza;

Protection against parasites and diseases;

Information alert about threats (diseases, herbivores, etc.), exchange of information and control signals.

Conclusion: before planting hazelnut seedlings, do not be lazy, go to the forest and from under a hazelnut from a depth of 10-15 cm.Take a mycorrhizal earth (forest humus with hyphae mushrooms) - it contains mycorrhiza of fungi. This will be the best babysitter for your nut plantings of all time - you only need 1-2 handfuls of her (100-200 g.) for each hole... Produce a similar bedding during reproduction by layering and other methods. Mycorrhiza forms under optimal moisture conditions. A decrease in humidity leads to the death of the fungus root, and if the humidity then rises, then new suction roots appear, and mycorrhiza reappears. Mycorrhiza is often found on the roots and at great depths (Apple, pear, hazel, cherry, plum and berry plants have both mycorrhiza and root hairs).

Feature VIII. Seedlings of common hazel, used as a stock, are suitable for standard culture, provided regular removal of overgrowth, since at the base of the bushes, a lot of rhizome and pneumatic shoots are usually formed. But you can almost completely get rid of this overgrowth by deepening the grafting sites to a depth of 20–25 cm when planting. And rootstocks such as seedlings of bear nut and its hybrids do not form overgrowths at all. So that shoots do not form on own-rooted standard plants, a film circle with a diameter of 50-60 cm is placed around the stem, its edges are instilled, and in the center they are tied around the stem 5-10 cm above the root collar. Although grafted specimens are offered for sale, preference should be given to rooted ones, so that the growth from the rootstock does not annoy in the future.

Some hazelnut varieties are prone to excessive root growth, which leads to depletion of bushes and reduced yields. In this case, part of the shoots must be removed at an early age, when the offspring rise 5-8 cm above the soil surface. Their cutting at the level of the soil surface does not lead to a decrease in the amount of root growth. Even the opposite process is observed, since pruning offspring causes their branching.

Conclusion: for effective overgrowth removal, it is necessary to dig up the soil around each shoot and cut it with a pruner to the base. Pruning is carried out as it grows back.

The above features do not reckon with which, as they say, at a loss. When cultivating hazelnuts, it is necessary to take care first of all about the pollinator, about varieties with high winter hardiness of male catkins and female inflorescences. If the area of ​​the site allows, then plant 5-8 carefully selected varieties and you will have only one problem - the problem of harvesting.

Is it possible to grow hazelnuts (hazelnuts) in our conditions?

Tamara Timokhina, Sinda

The genus of hazel unites up to 20 species distributed in the temperate latitudes of the forest zone of Europe, East Asia and North America. These are deciduous shrubs up to 4-10 m high, less often - trees with long, twig-like branches and simple, broadly oval leaves.

Views for the Khabarovsk Territory

Shrub species form undergrowth in deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests, growing in clearings into dense thickets. Most of the species have been used by humans since ancient times as nut crops. Recently, they began to be used for decorative purposes because of the large dark green foliage, painted in bright yellow and red tones in autumn. Hazel fruits are a pantry of delicious, easily digestible oil. For fruit setting, cross-pollination is necessary, therefore, you must have at least 2-3 bushes on the site.

Common hazel is a common inhabitant of European forests. A large, up to 7 m tall, multi-stemmed shrub is good from early spring, when, against the background of the first thawed patches, it dissolves long golden catkins in the wind.Hazel blossoms in the absence of foliage, but when the leaves finally bloom, the spreading crown turns into a real shady tent, under which a small family can settle. And in the fall, without disturbing the existing harmony of the garden, this species turns into a pleasant yellow color.

Various-leaved hazel

Other species of hazel, growing well in central Russia, differ from the ordinary leaf shape and nuts.

In the Far Eastern hazel, variegated leaves are practically naked with a truncated top, decorated with a spike, and the nuts are good and affordable. Among her compatriots, the Manchu and Siebold hazelnuts, the shells of the nuts look like long narrow tubes that completely hide the contents, and for greater reliability they are covered with unpleasant bristles that irritate the skin.

Manchurian hazel

You can also grow American hazel: horned and American itself, although they freeze slightly in winter and do not reach the same size as domestic ones.

Siebold hazel

Choosing a place

Hazel trees grow quickly, but are prone to burning and need shading from the hot midday rays. The advantages include longevity, winter hardiness, shade tolerance and decorativeness.

Grow best in fresh, humus-rich soils. They absolutely do not tolerate swampy and saline, as well as poor and dry soils.

Planting and leaving

Hazel is planted in autumn. First, they prepare pits 60x50 cm, fill them with humus (up to 10-15 kg) and mineral fertilizers (200 g of superphosphate and 50 g of potassium salt) and add fertile soil from the upper arable layer.

Before planting, the seedlings are cut to 20-25 cm, the roots are dipped in a mash made of clay and manure and placed in pits every 4-5 m (denser in a hedge), watered abundantly.

Trunk circles loosen, but not deeply, and mulch, for example, with cut grass.

In dry years, plants are occasionally watered, once every 2-3 years they are fed with organic matter and annually - with mineral fertilizers. In the period of fruit setting, it is desirable to feed with urea.

For the normal growth and development of the hazel bush in the 5-6th year, it is thinned out, leaving 6-8 or 8-10 trunks in each, depending on the planting density.

For a guaranteed safe overwintering of plants, it is recommended to bend low-growing branches to the ground in autumn and cover them with snow.

In landscape design

Hazel are shade-tolerant and can form the second tier. They are good for backing when you need to cover too long and bare trunks of "ankle" trees.

But hazelnuts love sunny meadows much more. Single mature bushes with widely spread branches will completely replace a gazebo or become a shelter for shady flower beds for about eighty years - this is the life of a plant, And abundant leaf litter of hazel will be a good organic fertilizing for any forest plants.

Keeping hazel in groups or singly is a matter of taste, in any case they look elegant.

Take note

Hazel is a hazelnut. Hazelnut is a "cultivated" hazel, now many different varieties have been bred. Mainly Turkish hazelnuts are delivered to us. The culture is very fruitful, so it is used in confectionery.

The varietal plant has a different shape and the nuts are much larger. However, real hazelnuts are richer in vitamins and are considered more healthful.

The inhabitants of Italy, Turkey, France, Sweden, Germany, America are well aware of how hazelnuts grow. Hazelnuts are called "large hazel", "Lombard nut" growing in southeastern Europe and Asia. (Hazel and hazelnut, what is the difference can be found in this article.) This is a deciduous woody shrub of the Birch family. The plant reaches 10 m in height. Its bark is ash-gray, shoots are red-green, densely pubescent. Leaves are oval-cordate, pointed, serrated from green to crimson, up to 6 cm wide and 12 cm long.

His flowers are both male - in the form of earrings up to 10 cm long, and female - red oblong buds.Fruits are egg-shaped nuts, up to 3 cm long, covered with a shell - a plyus. Walnut blooms usually take place during the winter and end in early spring. In winter, hazelnut earrings catch the eye of passers-by with green, orange and pink tones, and when pollinated, they turn yellow. The leaves of each variety have a different color - from green to red.

This plant perfectly tolerates shade, has a developed root system, so hazelnuts can be grown on slopes. But it bears fruit better if it grows in sunny, not windy places.

The benefits of hazelnuts

Many people like to grow hazelnuts, since it is completely unpretentious, easy to reproduce, and the value of its fruits occupies a leading position among all nuts. Its fruits have excellent taste and great nutritional value. They contain a lot of fat, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins. In terms of nutritional properties, hazelnuts are ahead of cereals, meat, milk, bread, vegetables and fruits. Bees feed on its pollen first of all, so it blooms before everyone else.

Long-term use of hazelnuts in food becomes a medicine for chronic fatigue, disorders of the nervous and cardiac systems, heals anemia, diabetes, impotence, obesity. It contains many essential amino acids, macro- and microelements. Nuts will be especially useful for the elderly and children. Recently, a rare substance was discovered in his oil - tocopherol, considered a vitamin of youth that can prolong life. In addition to the uniqueness of the fruit, the leaves, bush and bark of the plant have healing properties.

Landing

Hazelnuts have been cultivated since ancient times. This was confirmed by the finds of many archaeologists. Italians call hazelnuts "a plant for the lazy" because they are unpretentious to soil and terrain. It is grown on almost any land except saline, clayey and sandy. The most inconvenient places for the growth of other cultivated plants are allocated for it, and uneven areas where hazelnuts grow will be saved from soil erosion, while giving an excellent harvest.

The main work that is required to cultivate an adult shrub is harvesting, pruning off excess shoots and watering abundantly during dry periods. Hazelnuts give high yields from each bush. If stored properly, fruits can be stored for two years, retaining all natural qualities.

Hazelnuts are usually planted in the fall and spring, like all shrubs. In the South, it is mainly planted in the fall, a month before frost. By that time, it will gain strength and moisture, take root and develop well in the spring. In the Central and Northern regions, it is planted both in autumn and spring. For planting, young seedlings are kept in moist soil or water with a hydrogel (10 liters - 4 g).

Reproduction

The nut propagates by dividing the bush, seedlings, grafting, seeds. It can be easily grown at home and at the same time reap a rich harvest. Growing seedlings on your own is quite difficult, but you can buy them. At the same time, when buying, you should be more careful about the following things:

• the root system should be developed with no dryness;
• shoots must be intact;
• if the plant has released buds, it is advisable not to buy it when they have already blossomed. It is better to give preference to those whose kidneys are still "dormant".

A place

The plant will yield a high yield if planted in moist soil with good light. But the nut does not really like swampy soil. The richer the land, the larger the crown will reach. Hazelnuts grow better in places where there is no strong wind and draft. During the growing season, it is required to clear the soil of weeds and sometimes loosen the soil 10 cm deep.

Replenishment of the soil with fertilizers will not hurt either. For this, small holes are dug into which compost, manure or phosphorus and potash fertilizers are buried. When growing hazelnuts by means of seedlings, it is necessary to take into account that the distance between them must be at least 5 m.And if hazelnuts are used as a hedge, then they are planted denser - with an interval of 2-3 m.The planting hole is dug up to a depth of 70 cm.

Disembarkation

• a hill is poured in the center of the dug hole;
• the roots of the seedling treated with a solution of clay are placed along the hill;
• fill the hole and tamp the soil;
• slightly deepen the soil for future irrigation;
• covered with herbs or sawdust;
• the seedling is cut at a height of 25 cm from the ground;
• tie him to a support;
• the first watering is usually plentiful, as in drought.

Nuances when planting a walnut garden

Hazelnut flowers are pollinated by the wind and, for good yields, different varieties are planted on the same garden plot - pollinators. After planting seedlings, the first fruits appear in 5 years. You need to collect the nuts after they have fallen out of the shell, in late summer - early autumn. The branches of the bushes bend down and use a ladder when collecting.

Pests are not very fond of hazelnuts, but the May beetle is able to spoil its fruits. They fight it with insecticides or folk remedies - decoctions and herbal infusions. It is good to plant siderates next to bushes - lupine, oats, buckwheat. They are poisonous to insects.

Care

Trunk circles require weeding and careful loosening of the soil no deeper than 10 cm. After all, the root system of the hazel is close to the surface and the roots can be injured. At the 3rd year of life, the plant has lateral shoots and when harvesting, the bush can already be formed like a tree, cutting out the shoots. If hazelnuts are needed as a bush, then the density must also be monitored. Otherwise, the quality of the crop will decrease. Thickened branches are deprived of the sun's rays, and the main harvest will be only at the top.

Starting from the 5th age, no more than 7 shoots should be left, removing the extra ones in the middle, and bending the remaining ones and fixing them in the required position. This will provide the plant with better illumination and maximum air flow. The dawn of the fruiting of the nut falls on the 8-20 year. A tree can thrive in one place for up to 150 years if properly cared for. To do this, you need to rejuvenate the plant by cutting off old branches at the root every 2-3 years. Pruning is best done in the fall or winter.

Hazelnuts can be grown not only to obtain a nutritious and tasty harvest, but also to use them to decorate the site, planting different varieties with yellow, green, dissected and red leaves next to it.

Varieties

The productivity and quality of the crop depends on the plant variety. It is advisable to grow varieties that can get used to and survive in these conditions.

• Cosford is a disease resistant variety originated in England. Powerful and strong, it bears fruit well. Medium-hardy to frost. The leaves are deep dark green in color, and turn red in the fall. Has many long brown catkins when blooming. Blooms early. Finished nuts are free from the shell. They have a flattened-rounded shape. The kernels are juicy and tasty, the shell is thin, when ripe it acquires a reddish-brown tint. Cosford is an extremely prolific variety. He loves quiet places without drafts and a warm climate. It is an excellent pollinator for all varieties.
• Early meal - fruits are pointed with a thin shell, ripen in July. Bushes of medium size. Resistant to cold temperatures. It is considered the largest of all types. It belongs to the highest grade.
• Roman - has large fruits with a high kernel oiliness. Resistant to disease.
• Almond - the fruits are light, the kernel tastes like almonds, ripens at the end of summer.
• Barcelorno is a vigorous bush with a dense, powerful crown. It tolerates frosts, reaches a height of 5 m. The leaves of the hazelnut tree are large, green, and yellow in autumn. His stamen earrings are large, light green. Medium early flowering. The fruit coat is large and covers the entire nut, fanning out. When the fruits are ripe, it opens and the nuts fall to the ground. Nuts are large, slightly flattened, triangular. Average nut height up to 25 mm, thickness 15 mm.Thick shell, shiny, reddish brown. The apex is spiny. Juicy, sweet, tasty kernels with a fine-fiber, thin brown shell. Nuts finally ripen by autumn. The variety has a significant yield. Widespread, but prone to moniliosis.
• Gaulish - bred in Germany. A vigorous bush with a large crown of medium thickening. The fleecy leaves are rough, dark green. It has many male inflorescences growing in clusters. This hazelnut blooms early, like other varieties. Nuts are large, conical, regular flattened. The shell is thick, brown. The kernels are sweet and juicy, creamy. Harvests quite late. Loves fertile soil and regular fertilization. Itself is well pollinated and perfectly pollinates other varieties.
• The Warsaw red bush is vigorous. It has very tasty fruits that ripen in September. It is an ornamental variety with unusually beautiful red leaves. In autumn they turn yellow-red.
• Red-leaved. These shrubs have a rich dark red foliage, which turns green by autumn. Serve as a decorative ornament, often grown as a hedge. They are very loved by bees, and are beneficial for planting near the apiary. Red-leaved hazelnuts include the following varieties: Ekaterina, Academician Yablokov, Kudriif. Frost resistant. These shrubs grow well on the territory of Russia, give a high large-fruited yield. They are also unpretentious to the soil, but they like strong watering after planting.

• Caucasus. This variety was bred by Russian gardeners. It has large fruits weighing 2.5 grams. Good pollinator for other species. A feature of the variety is considered to be easy separability from the shell. Stores well in dry rooms.

Harvest and processing

The nuts are harvested after the shell turns brown and they begin to crumble. They are cleaned and stored in dry places in thick canvas bags. The shell is also suitable on the farm. The green young shell is used to make jam. It has a pleasant sourness, and syrup is used to treat scurvy, stomatitis, periodontal disease, improve blood circulation in hypertension.

Nuts are eaten raw, they are also dried and fried. Milk is prepared from them. For this, peeled fresh kernels are poured with water, and then, when they stand for several hours, they are ground in a wooden mortar. Water 1: 9 is added to the resulting slurry and insisted for several hours, stirring the composition. Then everything is boiled, adding salt and sugar. When sour, nut milk gives a tasty healthy yogurt.

In order to obtain hazelnut oil, known not only for food qualities, but also as an antihelminthic agent, it is thoroughly crushed, and diluted with water, heated. The mass is placed in cheesecloth folded in half, placed under a heavy press, and a dish is placed under it to collect oil. It is an excellent perfumery and cosmetic product, and also an excellent ingredient in cooking and confectionery. Hazelnut oil has a beautiful yellow color, excellent aroma and is easily absorbed by the body. The dough prepared with such oil rises quickly, and the finished products retain their softness and freshness for a long time.

Hazelnut kernels are used to make cream. To do this, they are cleaned of plyusa, thoroughly rubbed, adding water in portions. The dough mixture is mixed and whipped until a homogeneous composition is obtained that tastes like cream. They are eaten raw. They also make delicious creams for cakes, rolls and pastries.

Young leaves are used for salads, soups, teas. The cake, after pressing, is used for the preparation of rolls, halva, chocolate, waffles. Kernel nut flour is used for the candy filling. The leaves are also used to treat intestinal disorders, anemia, softening of bones, vitamin deficiency. Has healing properties and ointment from hazelnut leaves. She heals wounds.

Decoctions from the bark of a tree are drunk for malaria.It has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, sedative properties. Infusions are used to treat dysentery, varicose veins, and neoplasms.

In beekeeping, young bees are fed with harvested pollen. Pollen is good for humans too. It contains zinc, which is part of enzymes that help treat infertility, making sperm more mobile and tenacious.

Hazelnuts can be grown even in Siberia

In the fluffy bushes of hazel, or hazel, high decorativeness and productivity are favorably combined. For a summer residence, it is better to choose its cultivated form - hazelnuts: it is unpretentious, and planting and caring for it will not cause difficulties even in the absence of significant experience in gardening. Its spreading bushes with bright foliage and powerful roots reach a height of 3 m, and their life expectancy reaches 80 years. Each of them can ripen up to 8-10 kg of nuts. But in order to achieve this, you need to follow the technology of growing crops.

Suitable plot

Hazelnut is a master of adaptation. It can adapt to any conditions, but this nut thrives best in sunny or poorly shaded areas. Lack of light is bad for the yield of the shrub. In the dense shade, the decorativeness of the hazelnuts also suffers: the young branches dry out, and the color of the leaves loses its intensity. A place for growing crops should be chosen warm and not blown by winds and drafts, without stagnating cold air in the spring.

The soil can be any, but the nut is most generous in the harvest in fertile moist soil with a neutral reaction. The most unfavorable option for him is quickly drying earth and sand. The acidic and podzolic soil will have to be limed before planting the shrub. It is better to do this in advance - a year before the procedure, but you can also before it. Having scattered lime over the site (at the rate of 0.5 kg of substance per 1 m²), they dig up the soil, deepening by 1.5 bayonets of the shovel.

The terrain does not matter. Hazelnuts are found in lowlands, on steep and gentle slopes, on hills, near the shores of water bodies - they grow equally well everywhere. You can plant a nut on the site next to a shed or utility block, along a fence, at a gate or a gate, at a wall of a house casting a shadow. Hazelnut hedges are spectacular and elegant.

Landing time and scheme

It is better to place shrubs on the site in the fall. After winter, the plant wakes up quickly, so they start planting in spring very early - already at the end of February - March, otherwise the hazelnuts will not take root. If the dacha is located in the middle lane or in the Urals, it is advisable to postpone the procedure until early October. Then the injured roots of the seedling will have time to heal before the cold weather, and with the arrival of heat, it will begin to grow actively.

There is a lot of room for the development of hazelnuts. Several layouts are used:

• 6x6 m;
• 5x6 m;
• 4x6 m;
• 4x5 m.

It is impractical to thicken the planting: the bushes will grow weak, and few nuts will ripen on them.

Advice

You can place hazelnuts in a nesting way. Having outlined a circle with a diameter of 1.5 m, 5-6 plants are planted along it, adhering to the 6x6 m scheme. In the future, they are formed into 1 trunk, getting rid of all root growth.

They begin to prepare the soil 6 months before placing the seedlings in it. During this time, it should be steamed in order to accumulate as much moisture as possible. Its cleanliness is monitored by regularly pulling out weeds and loosening. It is advisable to cultivate deep layers of the soil, plunging into it by 50-60 cm. In oxygen-saturated loose soil, the roots of the bush will grow faster, it will take root easier. If the soil is not fertile enough, it is enriched with phosphorus-potassium compounds.

In order to achieve abundant fruiting of hazelnuts, several of its bushes (at least 2-3) are planted on the site, necessarily belonging to different varieties. Only in the presence of numerous neighbors will plants be able to fully pollinate.The dependence here is direct: the more varieties of crops are planted in the country, the more nuts are harvested from them.

Landing technique

The planting hole is dug at least 2 weeks before the plant is placed in it. Its optimum depth is 60 cm, and its width is 50 cm. Fertile soil is poured into the pit with a slide, adding fertilizers to it:

• humus (2-3 buckets) or manure (5-8 kg);
• superphosphate (150-200 g);
• potassium salt (50 g).

The supply of nutrients should be in the middle and upper part of the groove. With such a dressing, in the first 3-4 years of life in a new place, hazelnuts will not need feeding. A wooden stake is installed in the center of the pit. It will be a support for a young bush.

Hazelnut seedlings take root best of all at the age of 2 years. Having spread the roots of the plant, they are dipped in a chatterbox made of clay or earth. The seedling is placed on a mound, but first they put under it (to a depth of about 15 cm) a couple of handfuls of soil with mycorrhiza taken from under a hazelnut. In order for the roots to branch and develop actively, the root collar of the bush should be 2-3 cm below the ground level. But you cannot sprinkle it with earth itself. Having well compacted the soil above the roots, they carry out abundant watering (3-5 buckets of water).

The surface of the hole is mulched. Any organic is suitable for this:

• sawdust;
• straw;
• needles;
• peat;
• humus;
• manure;
• compost.

Mulch will help retain soil moisture. But it must be moved away from the trunk in order to avoid bark heating. Planting ends with pruning of the plant - a stump with a height of 20-25 cm should remain from it, having 5-6 buds.

In order for the seedlings to take root faster, re-watering is carried out after 5-7 days. This is especially important when planting hazelnuts in spring. In wet soil, its roots will grow quickly, and the hairs formed on them will help them more actively absorb water and nutrients necessary for the development of the aboveground part of the bush. To connect the soil capillaries, 2-3 waterings are required. When this happens, the planting ball will become inseparable from the rest of the soil. This will prevent it from drying out.

Watering and feeding

Further planting care involves standard procedures:

• watering;
• loosening the soil;
• top dressing;
• weed removal;
• pruning.

Hazelnuts love moisture and do not tolerate drought. Water it 5-6 times per season. Be sure to moisten the soil when the nut has bloomed, during the intensive growth of the ovaries and the laying of flower buds next year (in July) and after the foliage has flown. Watering should be abundant. It is carried out with warm water, spending 40-50 liters for each adult plant.

After moistening, the soil under the bushes is loosened. This must be done carefully, going deep into the soil by a maximum of 10-15 cm, so as not to damage the roots located almost at the surface. Experienced gardeners prefer not to take risks and instead of loosening, they cover the trunks with cut grass. Overheating, such mulch will become an additional source of nutrients for plants. This technique is also useful because the grass attracts worms, as a result of whose vital activity the fertility of the soil increases.

Growing hazelnuts will not be successful without regular feeding - they are needed throughout the growing season. In autumn, the soil in the trunks is enriched with wood ash. Such dressing accelerates fruiting and increases the yield of hazelnuts. In spring and summer, plantings are fed by introducing the following components into the soil:

• manure or compost;
• humus;
• ammonium nitrate;
• phosphate and potash fertilizers.

When the ovaries begin to form, the bushes are watered with a urea solution.

Moisten the soil before feeding. Having scattered nutrient compounds on it, they are embedded in the soil by shallow loosening. The trunk circle is watered and mulched again. The application of nitrogen fertilizers must be approached carefully: on poor soils, they will provoke an intensive growth of green mass, and few ovaries are formed on plants. An excess of nutrients will not benefit hazelnuts.Its bushes will actively grow, but the shoots will not have time to ripen and will suffer from frost in winter.

Pruning and preparing for winter

Usually the hazelnuts are shaped like a bush. The most important thing is young shoots - ovaries are formed on them. 7-10 are chosen from the lower branches - they form the skeleton of the bush. Excess branches are cut out. The shoots left behind should be strong, well developed and as far apart as possible. Be sure to get rid of diseased and damaged branches. The bush should not overgrow: this reduces its yield and creates a favorable environment for pathogens and pests. Therefore, caring for an adult plant consists in thinning it, removing dry branches and gradually rejuvenating the bush.

The formation of a hazelnut in the form of a tree involves regular pruning of all lateral shoots while preserving the main trunk.

Advice

There is a little trick that will save you time and effort. Part of the plant trunk (5-6 cm above the soil with the obligatory capture of the root collar) is wrapped with a film, digging its lower edge into the ground. Under it, basal shoots will not be able to form.

Hazelnuts well tolerate the neighborhood of vegetable and melon crops, as well as strawberries. They can be planted between his young bushes so that the place on the site is not empty. When they grow, closing their crowns (after 5-6 years), it is better to sow the soil under them with perennial grasses. For tinning soil with a neutral reaction, cereals are suitable. If the ground is acidic, it is worth planting lupine in the trunk circles. Sowing a vetch-oat mixture will help improve the structure of the alkaline soil. The grown herbs will have to be mowed periodically.

In the fall, when the shrub leaves the leaves, they are raked up and burned. This is an excellent prevention of powdery mildew. It is advisable to dig up the soil in the near-trunk circles by 10-15 cm. Hazelnuts are frost-resistant culture, but it is better for it to winter with skeletal branches bent to the ground. So his male earrings will be protected from the cold. The shoots are pressed to the soil by the fallen snow. When it melts, the branches are lifted up.

There is nothing difficult in growing hazelnuts. Rare watering and feeding, combined with proper pruning, will allow him to regularly delight the owners with healthy and nutritious nuts. And in lean years, disappointment from a small number of ovaries will smooth out the elegant look of the plant, which can be admired from early spring to late autumn.