US – Ferrero Group, the Italian company known for Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, is funding ongoing research to develop hazelnut cultivars resistant to eastern filbert blight, a fungal disease that has hampered U.S. hazelnut production.
The US$170,000 research grant also supports educational initiatives to teach local farmers how to cultivate hazelnuts and develop new cultivars that can thrive in colder climates.
Ferrero, a major player in the chocolate and confectionery industry, has been a key supporter of Thomas Molnar’s efforts for over 15 years.
The U.S. hazelnut industry is almost entirely based in Oregon, which produces 99% of the nation’s crop.
However, much of the hazelnuts consumed in the U.S. are imported, and demand continues to rise each year, according to Molnar, an associate professor in the Plant Biology Department at Rutgers University.
Molnar, who has nearly 30 years of experience studying hazelnuts, is leading the research team for this project at Rutgers. He has dedicated his career to combating the fungal disease native to North America that infects hazelnut tree stems.
The supply shortfall is particularly concerning as a new strain of eastern filbert blight has emerged in Oregon, potentially impacting production significantly. To offset imports and meet rising demand, Molnar believes the East Coast can play a crucial role in expanding production.
The Rutgers hazelnut breeding program has made significant strides in addressing the challenges posed by eastern filbert blight. In 2020, Rutgers released four robust cultivars – Raritan, Somerset, Monmouth, and Hunterdon – named after the iconic river on which the University sits and New Jersey counties.
After planting tens of thousands of trees to identify resistant strains, Molnar and his team, in collaboration with researchers at Oregon State University, developed highly productive hazelnut cultivars adapted to New Jersey that combine disease resistance with excellent nut size and flavor.
These cultivars, along with others in development, are expected to form the foundation of an expanding hazelnut industry in the mid-Atlantic.
Molnar noted that more than 30 growers are already cultivating these trees in New Jersey, and the investment is starting to bear fruit. Including parts of Pennsylvania and New York, more than 150 acres of eastern filbert blight-resistant hazelnuts are now growing across the mid-Atlantic.
A new focus for Molnar and his team is educating farmers on how to grow and harvest the new crop. Simultaneously, the researchers are refining efforts to breed better trees and develop new, improved cultivars, including those that can thrive in colder climates, with plans to release some of them next year.
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