California Walnut Varieties
There
are 37 varieties of walnuts grown in California. However, four
varieties account for over 80% 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 color is excellent, light grade consistently 90%
or better. Has potentially high fruitfulness with 80-90 percent of
lateral buds fruitful. Medium size tree is a moderately vigorous and
semi-upright, highly productive tree. Pollenizers 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 90-100%. It is well suited for high-density
plantings. Pollenizers are Payne, Serr or Sunland.
Cisco
Its main
attribute is as a pollenizer for Chandler and Howard. In growth habits Cisco
is semi-upright and a small tree.
Daniels
The tree
bears heavily, and the nut is thin shelled, medium sized, and cracks out at
about 40% kernel.
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 pollenizer,
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%. Franquette reputedly also has very high quality timber.
Hartley
of light
kernels nearly 90%. 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 pollenizers 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% light, and kernel percentage is 50%. Tree
size is small to medium and semi-upright with moderate vigor, which
makes it a good candidate for high-density plantings. Pollenizers 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% kernel with approximately 50% light. Yield
potential is high to very high. Approximately 80% to 90% 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 9 meters/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.
Sauber 1
Anthracnose
resistant, heavy and reliable producer, large nut, 35% crack out.
Scarsch
Franquette
Late
harvest. Nut size is small and well-sealed, very good quality light
kernel. Trees are large and require 40 to 50 foot spacing. Vigor is
moderate to high and tree shape is upright. Good pollenizer for Hartley
and Chandler.
Serr
Harvest is early
to mid-season. Nut size is large, with a fair to good shell seal.
Kernel is 60% light. Percentage of kernel is high at 59%. 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
pollenizers include Chico and Tehama.
Sparrow
A partially
self-fertile tree producing heavy crops of medium sized, nice flavored,
well-filled nuts.
Tulare
Harvest
mid-season. The nut and kernel are large, with a well-sealed, nearly
round nut. The Tulare requires no pollenizer. Tree has upright growth
habit, moderately vigor, suitable for hedge row 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% light with 48% kernel. Tree size is small to
medium; vigor is moderate to good and highly productive. Pollenizers
are Chico, Chandler, Howard and Tehama.
This
information was acquired through the Walnut Marketing Board
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