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 |
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