ISHS Acta Horticulturae 556: V International Congress on Hazelnut
THE BROWN SPOTS IN KERNEL CAVITY DISORDER OF HAZELNUT |
| Authors: | A. Romero, J. Tous, X. Ferrán, M. Rius, X. Sentis, J. Plana |
| Keywords: | Corylus avellana, filbert, hazelnut quality, elevation, temperature, fertilization |
| Abstract:
Brown spots in the kernel cavity (BSKC) is a commercially important physiological disorder of Spanish hazelnut cultivars. There are also references to this disorder in other producing countries (Turkey, Italy, United States and France). This work analyzes several factors associated with this disorder in the kernel cavity in the last stages of kernel development. The research was conducted in several ‘Negret’ orchards with different ecological conditions (coastal plain and hill region) and orchard management practices in Tarragona province. Hazelnut samples were collected from adult trees over a four-year period (1996 to 1999) in order to study how fertilizer applications (N and B), weather conditions, and crop level affect some nut characteristics (kernel weight, kernel size, percent kernel, BSKC, frequency of blanks, and frequency of moldy kernels). Results show that BSKC can affect 7 to 97 % of the total production, depending on the year, and also that there is a direct correlation between the percentage of fruit affected and the altitude of the growing area. Although the main cause of the BSKC disorder is not definitely known, it seems that orchards at high elevation have a lack of accumulated heat units during the period of kernel development (end of June to mid-July), that is correlated with an increase in the incidence of BSKC. Therefore, it seems that the disorder could be related to some enzymatic process that could be affected by temperature. | |
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