The Ontario Hazelnut Society ran a series of tours this year, to six Ontario hazelnut planting trials that started in 2016, to encourage farmers to plant hazelnut trees for the growing candy market.
Ferrero, the third biggest chocolate company in the world, opened a factory in Brantford, Ontario in 2006. This plant requires between 12,000 and 15,000 acres of hazelnut trees at intensive planting levels. Currently, Ontario has about 50 hazelnut farms or between 500 and 1,000 acres of hazelnuts, leaving the Ferrero factory obliged to import 11,000 tonnes of the tasty nut each year.
Ontario has two hazelnuts, Corylus Americana and Corylus cornula native to the Carolinian zone and Lake of the Woods but there are a couple problems. First, Ontario farmers are unfamiliar with the crop. Second, the larger European varieties are highly susceptible to Eastern filbert blight or Anisogramma. And finally, Ontario doesn’t have best practice guidelines for growing hazelnut in our soils and grow zones.
In addition to the planting trials in Ontario to solve these problems, another hazelnut project started in 2007, in the American mid-west crossing the hardiness and disease resistance of the North American hazel nut with the larger European. The U.S. trials are in 15 locations including PEI and Quebec.
Cultivars under study with the U.S. program include: Andres, Aldara, Marion, Frank, Northern Blais, Northfolk (C28), Chelsea (C16) from Grimo Nursery. From the Hazelnut Consortium, OSU Hybrid Selection, Arbor Day Hybrid Selection and Grand Traverse. And from Rutgers University, six selections.
Ernie Grimo, Past President of the Northern Nut Growers Association and owner of Grimo Nursery said, “Planting for six trials in Ontario started in 2016. It was a bad year for planting with the extensive drought and many trees were lost. Ferrero has decided to replace all the lost trees so the Ontario grower trials will be complete.”
- Janet Wallace