Why are those trees so big?

The Australian hazelnut industry’s Spring Farm Walk in Orange on Saturday, 19 October, promises to explore the potential climatic regions considered suitable for growing hazelnuts in Australia, redefine the volume and timing of inputs and rethink the shape of hazelnut trees.
 
Participants will have the opportunity to examine five-year-old trees planted at the Orange Agricultural Institute under the management of NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) technical officer, Stephen Gottschall, as part of a trial led by DPI research horticulturist, Dr Jacquelyn Simpson, in collaboration with Agri Australis and AgriFutures Australia.

The new trial is on the same site as a previous 15-year hazelnut evaluation trial of varieties suited to south-eastern Australia funded by AgriFutures Australia, formerly the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and NSW DPI.
 
The trial includes several of the more successful varieties from the first trial, including Barcelona, Tokolyi Brownfield Cosford (TBC) and Tonda de Giffoni and new Chilean varieties such as Blanco.

A panel of growers and NSW DPI hazelnut researchers will help identify techniques and inputs which are economically viable in a working orchard.
 
HGA’s NSW Spring Farm Walk and workshop commences 10 am at the Orange Agricultural Institute, 1447 Forest Road Orange. The day will conclude with an orchard walk and hazelnut-themed afternoon tea at Fourjay Farm’s 25-year-old orchard at Forest Reefs.
 
Registrations close at noon on Friday October 18 and the form can be found here.