Breeders Seek NYS American Hazelnut Seeds/Plants

[Carl Albers]

From the New York Growers Association website:  nynga.org, Professor Thomas Molnar, a hazelnut breeder at Rutgers University, would like to obtain seeds of the American hazelnut, Corylus americana for use in their breeding program. The goal is to select superior individuals for Eastern Filbert Blight resistance, for cold hardiness, and for boosting genetic diversity available in hybrid hazelnuts. The nuts will be grown out by a team of researchers, and the best will be propagated and submitted to the USDA Clonal Repository in Corvallis, Oregon. After a period of quarantine, they will be freely available to anyone who wants to use them.

Here is the protocol for sending American hazelnuts to Prof. Molnar:

• If you have questions before sending nuts, contact Professor Molnar or John Capik at [phone], [e-mail]
• If possible, keep a record of the individual bushes from which the nuts come and their GPS coordinates.
• Place the fresh nuts still in the husk, or clean of the husk, in breathable mesh bags, not in plastic. (Ladies' nylon stockings work fine if you don't have mesh bags.)
• Pack newspaper around the bags to help absorb moisture.
• Send the package by two-day mail to Professor Thomas Molnar, Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers University, 59 Dudley Road, Room, 164, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. You will be reimbursed for the postage promptly.