Walnut Cultivar Table

Pat J. Brown and Chuck Leslie, Walnut Breeders, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences

The University of California’s Walnut Improvement Program has been hard at work for decades breeding varieties with characteristic that are desirable to both growers and consumers. The following table compares many industry standards with more recent releases.


Cultivar	Leafing date	Bearing	Harvest	Avg kernel wt (g)	Avg % kernel	% Extra-light	% Light	Pollenizer(s)	Notes
Ivanhoe	Very early	Lateral	Very early	7.7	56	41	54	Serr, Payne	Very early, precocious variety with strong yield, susceptible to blight, recommended for San Joaquin Valley
Payne/Ashley	Very early	Lateral	Early	7	52	3	80	Solano, Vina, Ivanhoe	Old lateral-bearing variety with early leafing and harvest, susceptible to blight, codling moth
UC Wolfskill	Early	Lateral	Mid-early	8.1	57	63	36	Chandler, Howard, Tulare	Solano timing with kernel quality and color similar to Chandler
Vina	Early	Lateral	Mid-early	7.1	51	3	47	Chandler, Howard, Tulare	Mid-early harvest with good yield but poor color
Solano	Early	Lateral	Mid-early	8.7	55	41	57	Chandler, Howard, Tulare	Precocious, vigorous, high-yielding variety, Vina timing with better color
Durham	Mid	Lateral	Mid	8.9	57	49	50	Chandler, Howard, Tulare	Excellent nut and kernel quality, Tulare timing, vigorous, less precocious than Solano
Tulare	Mid-late	Lateral	Mid	8.2	55	6	82	not commonly used	Mid-season, vigorous, high yield variety, variable nut quality
Howard	Mid-late	Lateral	Mid	7.4	51	21	59	Cisco, Franquette	Mid-season, high-yield variety for Sacramento Valley, limb breakage, variable nut quality
Hartley	Mid-late	Terminal	Late	7	46	19	64	Cisco, Franquette	Old terminal-bearing variety, low kernel yield, classic in-shell nut
R. Livermore	Mid-late	Lateral	Late	6.4	51	NA	NA	Cisco, Franquette	Red kernels
Chandler	Mid-late	Lateral	Late	6.8	49	76	22	Cisco, Franquette	Excellent kernel color, cracks well with high yield of halves
Cisco	Late	Lateral	Very late	6.4	46	4	83	none	Chandler pollenizer, more precocious than Franquette
Franquette	Late	Terminal	Very late	6.2	48	45	49	none	Classic Chandler pollenizer, excellent color

Sacramento Valley Orchards

Walnut Cultivar Table

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