Technology Description ‘York’ carries the ‘Gasaway’ gene, giving it resistance to EFB, with the exception of a few cases of small cankers under high disease pressure. Additionally, ‘York’ is resistant to big bud mite (primarily Phytoptus avellanae Nal.), has very few nut defects, and its well-filled nuts are 46% kernel by weight. ‘York’ expresses the incompatibility allele S21 in the pollen. Thus, pollen of ‘York’ is compatible on most other hazelnut cultivars. ‘York’ produces a multitude of catkins, copious quantities of highly viable pollen, and sheds pollen over a long time in the mid-season flowering period.
Features & Benefits
Applications
Background Eastern Filbert Blight (EFB), caused by the fungus Anisogramma anomala, poses a serious threat and imposes a significant added cost to hazelnut production in the Willamette Valley, which produces the majority of US hazelnuts. The hazelnut pollinizer developed at Oregon State, named ‘York’, is from a cross of OSU 479.027 and OSU 504.065. The advantage of ‘York’ is in its resistance to EFB, production of copious amounts of pollen that is compatible on most other hazelnut cultivars, high pollen viability, and infrequent nut defects. The moderately vigorous trees are about 70% of the size of ‘Barcelona’, have similar nut maturation times, a smaller nut yield per tree, but a greater nut yield efficiency. Kernels of ‘York’ have good texture and flavor, and thus can be cracked and sold on the kernel market, in addition to their in-shell form.