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Background: ‘Burgundy Lace’ is a unique hazelnut selection for the ornamental landscape tree market. It is the only European hazelnut (Corylus avellana) cultivar in the nursery trade that combines dissected leaves (the cutleaf trait), red leaf color and resistance to the Oregon strain of eastern filbert blight (EFB). The tree is moderately vigorous and has a desirable upright-spreading growth habit that should be easy to manage in a landscape setting. ‘Burgundy Lace’ was selected at Oregon State University from a family of seedlings developed by crossing 2 half-sib selections, OSU 562.034 and OSU 562.062 in 1998. The nuts are small and the kernels are edible, but nut production will be minimal unless a second hazelnut cultivar is planted nearby to provide compatible pollen. The female flowers are inconspicuous, but the red male catkins are showy and provide very interesting appeal when blooming in late winter. -- http://icoregon.technologypublisher.com/technology/21725

Origin: ‘Red Dragon’, tested as OSU 897.078, resulted from a cross of OSU 487.055 × OSU 367.039 (Fig. 1) made in 1997. OSU 487.055 is from a cross of ‘Contorta’ (syn. Corylus avellana var. contorta) × VR 6-28, and OSU 367.039 is a redleaf selection from seeds derived from open pollination of ‘Contorta’. VR 6-28 is from a cross of ‘Riccia di Talanico’ from southern Italy and ‘Gasaway’. We believe that ‘Rode Zeller’ (syn. ‘Rote Zellernuss’) is the donor of the redleaf trait, which is conferred by a dominant allele at the leaf anthocyanin locus. A tree of ‘Rode Zeller’ was near the ‘Contorta’ tree from which open-pollinated nuts were collected. ‘Red Dragon’, OSU 487.055, and VR 6-28 carry in a heterozygous state a dominant allele for complete resistance to EFB in Oregon from ‘Gasaway’ (Mehlenbacher et al., 1991). Contorted growth habit is conferred by a recessive allele from ‘Contorta’ (Smith and Mehlenbacher, 1996). ‘Contorta’ was discovered in a hedgerow in Frocester, U.K., approximately 1863 and has been propagated by graftage or layerage (Wakefield, 1962). The nursery trade often calls it ‘Harry Lauder's Walking Stick’. Hybrid seeds from the cross OSU 487.055 × OSU 367.039 were harvested in Aug. 1997, stratified, and seedlings with contorted growth habit grown in the greenhouse during the summer of 1998 using standard practices (Thompson et al., 1996). From this cross, 42 seedlings with contorted growth habit were planted in the field in Oct. 1998. The designation OSU 897.078 indicates the row and tree location of the original seedling. Nuts were first observed on the original seedling in 2002. Grafted trees of ‘Contorta’ and 19 contorted selections, three or four trees of each, were planted in a trial in Mar. 2004. The trial was a randomized design in a single row located at the Smith Horticulture Research Farm in Corvallis. Trees in the trial were observed from 2004 to 2008. In 2006 and 2007, 10 nursery growers were invited to take notes on the trees and comment as to which were more desirable. These comments supplemented the notes recorded by the hazelnut breeding program (S.A. Mehlenbacher and D.C. Smith).Description: Compared with ‘Contorta’, grafted trees of ‘Red Dragon’ are slightly more vigorous with a desirable growth habit that is spreading rather than pendulous and have moderate branching. Too little branching would result in a “leggy” appearance, whereas too much branching would result in a very dense canopy. The moderate vigor of ‘Red Dragon’ should facilitate propagation. The degree of contortion is moderate, which is also considered desirable. Because of the natural growth habit of ‘Red Dragon’, it should be possible to maintain a desirable tree form with minimal pruning. Catkins, leaf buds, and young leaves are dark purple in color. Leaf size is medium, allowing the contorted growth to be visible in the summer months. The leaves of ‘Red Dragon’, like those of ‘Contorta’, are somewhat curled. Compared with other selections in the trial, ‘Red Dragon’ showed better retention of red leaf color in late summer in leaves near the shoot terminals. Comments on ‘Red Dragon’ from nursery growers were overwhelmingly positive, especially for growth habit and color retention. ‘Red Dragon’ and several similar selections were propagated by tie-off layerage of the suckers in the summers of 2003 through 2005 and harvested in late November to early January. The layers of ‘Red Dragon’ rooted with a higher frequency and produced more roots than most other contorted selections, and the layers were moderately vigorous (data not shown). In May 2002, DNA was extracted from several contorted seedlings and amplified with the polymerase chain reaction. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers UBC 152800, UBC 268580, and AA12850 that are linked to the EFB resistance gene from ‘Gasaway’ (Mehlenbacher et al., 2004) are present in ‘Red Dragon’. Scions were collected from ‘Red Dragon’ and several other contorted selections in the spring of 2004 and three trees of each were grafted to rooted layers of C. avellana. The shoot tips of the grafted trees were inoculated in the greenhouse with a spore suspension of A. anomala and then held under high humidity (Lunde et al., 2000). All three inoculated trees of ‘Red Dragon’ remained free of disease as did the resistant ‘Gasaway’ controls, whereas those of several other selections and the susceptible ‘Daviana’ controls in the same test developed cankers. The lack of cankers confirmed the results of the RAPD markers and indicates complete resistance to the isolate of EFB in Oregon. The response of ‘Red Dragon’ to inoculation with other isolates of EFB from the eastern United States has not been tested. Susceptibility to bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. corylina has not been determined, although no trees have been lost to the disease in our trial plots. Damage by bud mites (primarily Phytoptus avellanae Nal.) was rated on ‘Red Dragon’, ‘Contorta’, and eight other contorted selections in the trial planted in Spring 2004. Ratings from 1 (no blasted buds) to 5 (many blasted buds) were recorded on three or four trees of each genotype in December for 3 years (2005 to 2007). Bud mite susceptibility ratings for ‘Red Dragon’ (3.1) and ‘Contorta’ (2.6) were not significantly different [least significant difference (lsd) (0.05) = 0.9]. Bud mite ratings on the original seedlings of ‘Red Dragon’ and other contorted selections recorded in Dec. 2000 to 2002 and 2004 were similar to those in the trial. The number of catkins was rated in the trial simultaneously with bud mite ratings on a scale of 1 (no catkins) to 5 (many catkins). ‘Red Dragon’ (2.3) sets fewer catkins than ‘Contorta’ (3.2) but more than several other selections (lsd 0.05 = 0.6). Hazelnuts flower in midwinter with few other plants. Catkins elongate in mid- to late winter in response to warm temperatures and, combined with the contorted growth habit, make an attractive display in the garden. The catkins are purple (Fig. 3), but the pollen is yellow. Pollen shed and female receptivity occur late in the season, at a similar time to ‘Contorta’. ‘Red Dragon’ is being released for its ornamental value rather than nut production. ‘Red Dragon’ sets a few nuts that are small, slightly long, and compressed. The nuts are borne in clusters of one or two in husks equal in length to the nuts. ‘Red Dragon’ has incompatibility alleles S6 and S26. Both alleles are expressed in the stigmas, but only S6 is expressed in the pollen. Fingerprints from simple sequence repeat markers show that ‘Red Dragon’ is different from the recently introduced C. avellana ‘Red Majestic’ (Plant Patent 16048) and that trees of ‘Red Majestic’ from two sources showed different fingerprints. ‘Red Majestic’ combines red leaf color and contorted growth habit, but the Plant Patent does not mention resistance to EFB. -- Mehlenbacher and Smith. 2009. HortScience 44:843-844.

'Jefferson' has incompatibility alleles S1 and S3, the same as 'Willamette'. Both alleles are expressed in the stigmas, but only S3 is expressed in the pollen. Pollen is shed in mid-season, but female receptivity is very late. Pollinizers that shed pollen very late are recommended. We recommend one-third of 'Eta' (S11 S26) and two-thirds 'Theta' (S5 S15). 'Yamhill' pollen is effective on early-emerging females of 'Jefferson', so planting orchards of two cultivars, alternating 'Jefferson' and 'Yamhill' at double density, is also an option.

'Jefferson' is being released as a public cultivar and may be propagated fo sale in the United States without restriction. A list of nurseries and micropropagators is available from S. A. Mehlenbacher, Department of Horticulture, 4017 Agricultural and Life Sciences Building, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-7304. Small quantities of scion wood may be obtained from the same address. Legal protection for 'Jefferson' will be sought in Chile, and a licensing agreement pursued with a micropropagator and a nursery.

Shawn Mehlenbacher, Release notice for 'Jefferson' 2009.

'Eta', tested as OSU 984.075, resulted from a cross of OSU 581.039 x OSU 553.0990 made in 1999. 'Eta' has incompatibility alleles S11 and S26; both are expressed in the pollen. The trees set catkins in moderate to high numbers, and pollen is very late, a few days after 'Epsilon' and 'Zeta'. The pollen shedding period is of intermediate length. It is a suitable pollenizer for OSU 703.007 which we propose to release as new cultivar 'Jefferson'. Nuts and kernels resemble those of 'Casina' but kernels blanch better.

The OSU hazelnut breeding program proposes the release of two selections as pollinizers. The proposed names are 'Eta' and 'Theta', which are the next letters in the Greek alphabet. Their release comes after the release of 'Gamma', Delta', 'Epsilon', and 'Zeta' in 2001. All six have complete resistance to eastern filbert blight (EFB). We propose the release of 'Eta' and 'Theta' as pollenizers for OSU 703.007, which we propose to release as a new EFB-resistant cultivar 'Jefferson' for the in-shell market.

Four EFB-resistant selections (VR4-31, VR11-27, VR20-11 and VR23-18) released in 1991 as pollenizers for 'Barcelona' (S1 S2), express incompatibility allele S3 in their pollen. In 2001, four additional pollenizers were released, following the release of 'Lewis' in 1997 and 'Clark' in 1999. Pollen of 'Gamma' (S2 S10) and 'Delta' (S1 S15) is compatible on female inflorescences of 'Lewis' (S3 S8), which are receptive in mid-season. Pollen of 'Epsilon' (S1 S4) and 'Zeta' (S1 S1) is compatible on females of 'Clark' (S3 S8), which are receptive very late in the season. We are proposing the release of OSU 703.007 (S1 S3) whose female inflorescences are receptive very late in the season. Of the eight pollenizers listed above, seven are incompatible on OSU 703.007. The only compatible pollenizer, 'Gamma', sheds its pollen too early in the season to be a dependable pollenizer for OSU 703.007, although in some years 'Gamma' pollen shed overlaps receptivity of the earliest females of OSU 703.007. The duration of pollen shed of 'Yamhill' better overlaps receptivity of early-emerging OSU 703.007 females, but its vigor is lower than ideal for a pollenizer in a high-density orchard. In fact, no available pollenizer or cultivar combines the EFB resistance, compatibility, and late pollen shed needed for use as pollenizers in 'Jefferson' orchards. We propose to release 'Eta' and 'Theta' to fill the need for EFB-resistant pollenizers that shed pollen very late in the season and are compatible on female inflorescences of 'Jefferson'.

The need for late-shedding pollinizers for 'Jefferson' is urgent, as large numbers of trees are currently being planted. The release of additional EFB-resistant pollinizers is also desirable because it will Oregon's hazelnut growers more options when establishing new orchards. We anticipate release of several additional EFB-resistant cultivars in future years. 'Eta' and 'Theta' could be useful as pollenizers for them. Nut yield and quality are not primary concerns in the selection o pollinizers. In older orchards, pollinizers represent about 11% of the total number of trees. In recent years, 5.5% is more common, but nut yields often suffer because of insufficient pollination. The planting of three pollenizers that shed pollen a different times during the winter flowering season increases the likelihood that females of the main cultivar will be pollinated.

S. Mehlenbacher. Release notice for 'Eta' 2009.

'Theta', tested as OSU 1001.008, resulted from a cross of OSU 561.184 x 'Delta' made in 1999. 'Theta' has incompatibility alleles S5 and S15; both are expressed in the pollen. The trees set many catkins, and pollen is shed very late in the season, a few days after 'Epsilon', 'Zeta' and 'Eta'. It is a suitable pollenizer for OSU 703.007 which we propose to release as new cultivar 'Jefferson'. The nuts are small and nearly round, and mature a few days later than 'Barcelona'. Kernel quality is acceptable for many uses.

The OSU hazelnut breeding program proposes the release of two selections as pollinizers. The proposed names are 'Eta' and 'Theta', which are the next letters in the Greek alphabet. Their release comes after the release of 'Gamma', Delta', 'Epsilon', and 'Zeta' in 2001. All six have complete resistance to eastern filbert blight (EFB). We propose the release of 'Eta' and 'Theta' as pollenizers for OSU 703.007, which we propose to release as a new EFB-resistant cultivar 'Jefferson' for the in-shell market.

Four EFB-resistant selections (VR4-31, VR11-27, VR20-11 and VR23-18) released in 1991 as pollenizers for 'Barcelona' (S1 S2), express incompatibility allele S3 in their pollen. In 2001, four additional pollenizers were released, following the release of 'Lewis' in 1997 and 'Clark' in 1999. Pollen of 'Gamma' (S2 S10) and 'Delta' (S1 S15) is compatible on female inflorescences of 'Lewis' (S3 S8), which are receptive in mid-season. Pollen of 'Epsilon' (S1 S4) and 'Zeta' (S1 S1) is compatible on females of 'Clark' (S3 S8), which are receptive very late in the season. We are proposing the release of OSU 703.007 (S1 S3) whose female inflorescences are receptive very late in the season. Of the eight pollenizers listed above, seven are incompatible on OSU 703.007. The only compatible pollenizer, 'Gamma', sheds its pollen too early in the season to be a dependable pollenizer for OSU 703.007, although in some years 'Gamma' pollen shed overlaps receptivity of the earliest females of OSU 703.007. The duration of pollen shed of 'Yamhill' better overlaps receptivity of early-emerging OSU 703.007 females, but its vigor is lower than ideal for a pollenizer in a high-density orchard. In fact, no available pollenizer or cultivar combines the EFB resistance, compatibility, and late pollen shed needed for use as pollenizers in 'Jefferson' orchards. We propose to release 'Eta' and 'Theta' to fill the need for EFB-resistant pollenizers that shed pollen very late in the season and are compatible on female inflorescences of 'Jefferson'.

The need for late-shedding pollinizers for 'Jefferson' is urgent, as large numbers of trees are currently being planted. The release of additional EFB-resistant pollinizers is also desirable because it will give Oregon's hazelnut growers more options when establishing new orchards. We anticipate release of several additional EFB-resistant cultivars in future years. 'Eta' and 'Theta' could be useful as pollenizers for them. Nut yield and quality are not primary concerns in the selection o pollinizers. In older orchards, pollinizers represent about 11% of the total number of trees. In recent years, 5.5% is more common, but nut yields often suffer because of insufficient pollination. The planting of three pollenizers that shed pollen a different times during the winter flowering season increases the likelihood that females of the main cultivar will be pollinated.

Shawn Mehlenbacher, Release notice for 'Theta,' 2009.

Sacajawea is the result of a cross of OSU 43.091 x Sant Pere made in 1990 by Shawn A. Mehlenbacher and David C. Smith. 'Sant Pere', a minor cultivar from Tarragona (Spain) with very early nut maturity, was described by Tasias-Valls (1975). We believe that OSU 43.091 resulted from self-pollination of Montebello, which is partially self-compatible (Mehlenbacher and Smith, 1991). Alternatively, the pollen parent of OSU 43.091 might be an unknown cultivar or OSU selection. `Montebello', a Sicilian cultivar, was described by Manzo and Tamponi (1982) and is grown under many synonyms, including Nocchione, Nostrale, Comune di Sicilia, Siciliana, and `Santa Maria del Gesu.

Hybrid seeds from the cross OSU 43.091 x Sant Pere were harvested in Aug. 1990, stratified, and the resulting seedlings grown in the greenhouse during the summer of 1991. In Oct. 1991, 135 seedlings from this cross were planted in the field. The location designation OSU 540.130 for Sacajawea indicates the row and tree within the row of the original seedling. A few nuts were first observed on the original seedling in Sept. 1994 but were not harvested. Nuts were harvested and evaluated in each of the next 4 years. The selected tree was propagated by tieoff layerage of the suckers in the summer of 1997. The resulting rooted layers were lined out in a nursery row in 1998 and used to plant a replicated yield trial in the spring of 1999 at the Smith Horticulture Research Farm in Corvallis. Four trees of each genotype were planted in a randomized complete block design with a single tree of each genotype in each block. Oregon's leading cultivar, `Barcelona', and the recently released `Lewis and `Clark were included as checks. Nuts were harvested and evaluated annually for 5 years (2001 to 2005). The name was chosen to honor the Shoshone woman who accompanied Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their Corps of Discovery to the Oregon Territory. They spent the winter of 1805 to 1806 near Astoria, OR.

Sacajawea is a new hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivar for the kernel market. It combines a high level of quantitative resistance to eastern filbert blight caused by the fungus Anisogramma anomala (Peck) E. Muller with excellent kernel quality and acceptable nut yields. Compared with Oregon's leading cultivar, Barcelona, Sacajawea has slightly smaller trees, slightly higher nut yield efficiency, earlier nut maturity, higher percentage of kernel (the ratio of kernel to nut weight), and better pellicle removal ratings. The excellent kernel quality is comparable to the best Italian cultivars.

Flowering characteristics
- Incompatibility alleles: S2S10 (only S10 expressed in the pollen)
- Time of pollen shed: Midseason (about the same time as 'Daviana')
- Catkin density: Many catkins
- Duration of pollen shed: Short Nut characteristics (Figure 2)
- Size: Slightly larger than 'Casina'
- Blanching: Poor removal of pellicle
- Maturity: Few days before 'Barcelona'

Pest tolerance
- Eastern filbert blight: Complete resistance from 'Gasaway'
- Kernel mold: Very low
- Big bud mite: Intermediate (similar to 'Casina')

Important note: This cultivar should not be used as the only pollinizer in a planting. It is a suitable pollinizer for 'Lewis' and 'Barcelona', blooms too early for 'Clark', and is incompatible with 'Casina'. The seedling tree growth was vigorous.