Walnuts cultivars. California & Australia walnuts varieties

There are hundreds of named varieties of walnuts in the world. They all have the same genus and species name, Juglans regia, or the common name, English walnut. Previously they were known as Persian walnut, due to where they were originally found growing naturally. However, over the last hundred and fifty or so years people have crossed certain cultivars of the Juglans regia to produce walnuts which have desirable characteristics, such as early or late maturing, shell thickness, ease of cracking, kernel colour and resistance to disease to name but a few. The Californians and the French have been the most active in breeding new varieties. California walnut varieties. There are 37 varieties of walnuts grown in California. However, four varieties account for over 80 per cent of total production: Chandler, Hartley, Payne and Serr. Chandler Harvest mid-season; large smooth oval nut, with good shell seal and high quality kernel. Kernel colour is excellent, light grade consistently 90 per cent or better. Has potentially high fruitfulness with 80 to 90 per cent of lateral buds fruitful. Medium size tree is a moderately vigorous and semi-upright, highly productive tree. Pollinizers are Cisco and Scharsch Franquette. Chico Small, upright, early harvest, highly productive tree. Nut size is small with excellent kernel quality. Due to smaller size trees and a very high percentage of lateral pistil late; bloom 90 to 100 per cent. It is well suited for high-density plantings. Pollinizers are Payne, Serr or Sunland. Cisco Its main attribute is as a pollinizer for Chandler and Howard. In growth habits Cisco is semi-upright and a small tree.. Eureka Tree is very large, somewhat spreading growth habit. Harvest early to mid-season. Nut is medium size elongated with a good shell seal. Franquette A late leafing Californian variety which is good for areas with late spring frosts. Unfortunately, its late flowering also means it misses the pollen shed by other varieties, so nut set and yields are often poor. It may be worth trying 'Mayrick,' also late flowering, as a pollinizer or 'Rex.’ Most Californian varieties are susceptible to walnut blight, and are therefore poorly suited to wet and humid areas, but Franquette seems to have some degree of blight resistance. Franquette is a terminal bearer. The nuts are large, and attractive. Crack out is around 31 per cent. Franquette reputedly also has very high quality timber. Hartley Percentage of light kernels nearly 90 per cent. Tree size is moderate to large, moderately spreading with good vigor on fertile soil. Hartley needs 40 to 45 foot spacing for mature tree. Most widely planted walnut variety in California. Acceptable pollinizers are the late blooming Amigo and Scharsch Franquette. Howard Harvest mid-season; nut is large, round and smooth with a good seal. Kernel quality is excellent at 90 per cent light, and kernel percentage is 50 per cent. Tree size is small to medium and semi-upright with moderate vigor, which makes it a good candidate for high- density plantings. Pollinizers are Cisco or Scharsch Franquette. Payne Harvested early in the season. Payne nut size is medium to small. Shell seal is very good. Nuts average 48 per cent kernel with approximately 50 per cent light. Yield potential is high to very high. Approximately 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the lateral buds on shoots are fruitful. Very productive. Tree is medium round shaped. Heavy pruning is required when trees are young to avoid overbearing. Pedro A particularly desirable walnut for the home gardener because it is a relatively 'small' tree at about nine metres/30 feet high. It is self fertile, needing 400 hours of winter chill (not suited to areas with late frost), and the nut is both well sealed and particularly liked when tested in consumer taste panels. Serr Harvest is early to mid-season. Nut size is large, with a fair to good shell seal. Kernel is 60 per cent light. Percentage of kernel is high at 59 per cent. Serr planted on shallower, heavier, or less fertile soil seems to bear better. Serr tree size is large and requires a spacing of at least 40 feet. Shape is moderately spreading and vigor is good to excessive. Suitable pollinizers include Chico and Tehama. Tulare Harvest mid-season. The nut and kernel are large, with a well-sealed, nearly round nut. The Tulare requires no pollinizer. Tree has upright growth habit, moderately vigor, suitable for hedgerow and other high-density planting systems. Vina Harvest early to mid-season; medium size pointed nut, with a good shell seal. Kernel color is good at 60 per cent light with 48 per cent kernel. Tree size is small to medium; vigor is moderate to good and highly productive. Pollinizers are Chico, Chandler, Howard and Tehama. Source: http://www.qualitynut.com/  http://www.walnuts.org Australia walnut varieties. Walnuts Australia chose well known varieties to introduce to Australia and to multiply up in our nursery. After a lot of trial work a select number of varieties were chosen to concentrate on, these being: • Chandler • Howard • Serr • Vina • Lara • Ashley • Tulare Most of these are Californian varieties as they are well known and recognisable in the world market. Walnuts Australia chose a range of varieties from early to late maturing so that the harvest season will be as long as possible, thereby reducing the amount of harvesting and processing equipment required. Walnuts are sold as either in-shell or as kernel walnuts. Different varieties are better suited to each selling method, mainly due to the kernel colour characteristic. Chandler has a good reputation as it has a high percentage of extra light and light coloured kernel. Source: http://www.websterltd.com.au/