State and perspectives of nut crops in Bulgaria

Stefan Gandev, Veselin Arnaudov, Vanya Manolova, Lilyana Nacheva, Kuman Koumanov, Dora Borisova, Magdalena Nikolova, Elitsa Blagoeva

Abstract: The nut crops of economic importance, grown in Bulgaria, are walnut, hazelnut and almond, walnut occupying the largest share in the structure of fruit-growing. Genetic resources maintained in the country, amount to 58 walnut, 115 almond and 19 hazelnut cultivars. Research on walnut, hazelnut and almond comprises different areas – breeding, cultivar studies, propagation, pruning, resistance to diseases and pests, etc. Ten new walnut cultivars have been created and a number of introduced cultivars have been studied. In parallel to that, two of the most popular in the world techniques of walnut propagation – hot callus and hypocotyl grafting – have been investigated and adapted under production conditions. A new method of industrial-scale walnut propagation was created, applying the epicotyl grafting technique. Concerning hazelnut, a production technology of single-stem hazelnut planting material on tree-like hazel bush in a nursery in the open has been developed. Seventeen hazelnut cultivars grafted on C. colurna L. were evaluated by different characteristics, describing their biological and economic values, susceptibility to the most economically important diseases and pests and the quality characteristics of fruit and kernel. The almond genetic material available in the country was studied, determining and creating the regional distribution of the pers-pective cultivars to be grown. The basic technological elements of growing all the three nut species have been defined.

Keywords: almond; hazelnut; walnut

Date published: 2017-07-07