Four New Persian Walnut Cultivars of Iran: Persia, Caspian, Chaldoran, and Alvand

‘Helete Güneşi’, a New Walnut Cultivar with Late Leafing, Early Harvest Date, and Superior Nut Traits

“…It was found that the three cultivars in the present study were similar to each other in this respect since they had a light kernel color. The current findings describe the kernel color of 'Chandler' and 'Maraş 18' as the same as those in the available literature [17,19,27]. Finally, ease of removal of kernel halves was easy in the case of 'Helete Güneşi' and 'Maraş 18' cultivars, while it was very easy in the 'Chandler' cultivar.…”

“…All walnut cultivars analyzed in the present study displayed a protandrous flowering trait (Table 3). This was not a surprising result because previous studies in the existing literature pointed to the fact that 'Chandler' has a protandrous flowering trait [12,27,31]. Another study by Sütyemez [17] demonstrated that 'Maraş 18' is also protandrous in flowering.…”

“…The statistical analysis of nut weight, kernel weights, kernel percentage, and shell thickness of 'Helete Güneşi' and its parents indicated statistically significant differences among these three cultivars (Figure 3). Previous studies on the 'Chandler' cultivar showed that its nut weight and kernel weight ranged from 7.7 g to 14.0 g and from 3.32 g to 7.00 g, respectively [17,27,31,40]. Similarly, Sütyemez [17] reported that the kernel weight and kernel percentage of 'Maraş 18' ranged from 13 to 15 g and from 52% to 57%, respectively.…”

“…A later leafing date in 'Helete Güneşi', compared to 'Chandler', is a promising phenological trait. Many studies in the existing literature have listed 'Chandler' having a later leafing date then many walnut genotypes [16,[23][24][25][26][27]. Various studies have underlined the importance of a late leafing date that can help protect the tree from late-spring frost [11,15,17,[28][29][30].…”

“…Furthermore, this cultivar had a high level of female flower abundance. Therefore, the suitability of these traits has made 'Helete Güneşi' superior to 'Chandler' in some respects, since the latter is also known to have Many studies in the existing literature have listed 'Chandler' having a later leafing date then many walnut genotypes [16,[23][24][25][26][27]. Various studies have underlined the importance of a late leafing date that can help protect the tree from late-spring frost [11,15,17,[28][29][30].…”