— COMMERCIAL CATALOG —
Walnuts
Rootstocks available for pre-bud orders: Northern California Black (NCB) Seedling & Paradox Hybrid Seedling (NCB X Persian Walnut).
In 1979, the University of California introduced Chandler as a heavy-bearing, mid late-season walnut with lateral bud fruitfulness of 85-90%. Chandler nuts are large and smooth with well-sealed shells and a pearly kernel color (expect a 90% or better light color grade). Chandler is late to leaf and bloom which reduces susceptibility to frost, walnut blight and codling moth compared to earlier varieties. The tree is moderately vigorous and semi-upright, so it is well-suited to high-density plantings. Franquette or Cisco is recommended as a pollenizer.
Cisco is an extremely late leafing, laterally fruitful walnut. Due to its moderate yield, Cisco is mainly used as a pollenizer for Chandler and Howard walnuts. In growth habit, the tree is semi-upright and relatively small. The Cisco nut and kernel are similar to Franquette, but slightly larger. Kernel color can be variable.
The new Forde walnut is precocious with a mid-season harvest date. Forde leafs out about 5 days before Chandler and is 100% laterally fruitful. Forde produces immense nuts that are oval to round, medium-textured with a good seal and a strong yet easily removed shell. The remarkably large (9 gram), plump kernels are light and make up about 54% of the total weight. Forde is intermediate in vigor between Sexton and Gillet and shows low susceptibility to walnut blight. Pollenizers are Payne, Vina, Serr and Sexton. (Patent No. 16495)
The Franquette walnut (Scharsch strain) is a late-leafing variety with low susceptibility to spring frost damage, walnut blight and codling moth. Franquette gives a fair production of well-sealed, thin-shelled quality nuts with light kernels. The tree is very large and upright. Franquette comes into production late and requires little pruning. Used as pollenizer for Chandler and Hartley.
Like Forde and Sexton, Gillet is a new cultivar that features high yields on young trees and a mid-season harvest date (10 days before Chandler). With a low blight score and 100% lateral fruitfulness, Gillet walnut is an excellent early-leafing selection. Gillet nuts are somewhat more oblong than Sexton, but are similar with good seals and shell strength. The light-colored Gillet kernels are easy to remove and heavy (8.2 grams) with a 50% crackout. The tree is more vigorous than Forde or Sexton. Pollenizers are Payne, Vina, Serr and Sexton. (Patent No. 17135)
The Hartley walnut, exhibited in 1915 at the San Francisco World's Fair, won blue-ribbon recognition as a premium in-shell nut. Today, Hartley is the standard for mid late-season walnut harvest. Hartley is a consistent producer, despite being only slightly fruitful on lateral buds. The Hartley nut is fairly large with a pointed tip. Thin-shelled, well-sealed and easy to crack, Hartley produces a high percentage of light kernels (76%). The tree is medium-to-large, moderately spreading and has low susceptibility to codling moth and blight. When stressed by a lack of water or poor soil, Hartley is susceptible to deep bark canker. Hartley is usually planted with Franquette as a pollenizer.
Howard is a laterally fruitful, mid-season walnut with heavy bearing potential. A smaller sibling of Chandler, Howard was released by the University of California in 1979. The semi-upright tree is not as large or vigorous as Chandler and should be pruned to encourage growth. Due to its smaller growth habit, Howard is a good candidate for high-density plantings. Like other late-leafing varieties, Howard has reduced blight and codling moth susceptibility. The nut is large, round, smooth and well-sealed with a very high percentage of light kernels (96%). Howard can be pollenized by Cisco or Franquette.
The vivid red kernels of the medium-sized Livermore Red walnut are highly desired in niche and farmers' markets. The tree is laterally fruitful and has a late harvest with moderate to heavy yield. Livermore Red leafs out in mid-April. Pollenized by Cisco and Franquette. Patent Pending.
Harvested early in the season, the Payne walnut is medium to small in size with a very good shell seal. Payne has a high yield potential due to high lateral bud fruitfulness (80 to 90%) and good vigor. The tree is precocious and requires heavy pruning when young to avoid overbearing. Due to its early leafing and bloom, Payne is very susceptible to walnut blight and codling moth . Chico and Hartley are pollenizers, although Payne is self-fruitful due to good coincidence of pistillate bloom and pollen shedding.
Serr is the preferred walnut variety for marginal soils and hot climates. Unlike other cultivars, Serr seems to prefer shallower, heavier, less fertile soil and is highly resistant to sunburn. With an early to mid-season harvest, Serr is large in size with a fair-to-good shell seal. Serr kernel crackout is 59% with an average kernel size over 7 grams. The fast-growing Serr tree requires a spacing of at least 40 feet due to moderate spreading and good-to-excessive vigor. Suitable pollenizers for Serr include Chico and Tehama.
Sexton is a new walnut variety characterized by very high yields on young trees and a mid-season harvest time. The Sexton walnut leafs out and harvests at least a week ahead of Chandler, but has low blight scores and is 100% fruitful on laterals with abundant male and female flowers. The Sexton nuts are relatively smooth and round with good seals and good strength. The large (8 gram) kernels are light colored, easy to remove from the shell and make up more than 50% of the nut weight. The tree has a densely-branching canopy that requires training and pruning when young to prevent overbearing. Potential pollenizers for Sexton are Tulare and Chandler. (U.S. Plant Patent No. 16496)
Sunland, an early-leafing, late-maturing walnut, offers heavy crops of particularly huge nuts with plump kernels averaging 10.4 grams. Like many early-leafing California cultivars, Sunland is sensitive to walnut blight, especially in humid or rainy areas. The Sunland kernel is light with a very good crackout (58%) and the tree is a good lateral bearer (80% of lateral buds bear flowers).
Tulare is a large, nearly round, well-sealed walnut with very high quality kernels. Tulare crackout is about 53% and average kernel weight is 7.5 grams with 86% light. Harvested mid-season, Tulare requires no pollenizer due to a good coincidence of pistillate bloom and pollen shedding. Upright and moderately vigorous, Tulare has excellent production potential, especially in hedgerow and other high-density planting systems.
Vina walnut, with an early-to-midseason harvest and high lateral fruitfulness, bears high-quality, medium-sized pointed nuts with well-sealed shells, though the percentage of light-colored kernels is relatively low. Vina is well-adapted to areas with hot summers and, like many early-leafing California selections, is moderately susceptible to walnut blight and codling moth. This medium-sized, rounded tree is highly productive with moderate vigor. Vina is pollenized by Chico, Chandler, Howard and Tehama.
Packing Variety, recommended for new plantings in the Fresno area. Within their harvest season, these varieties have demonstrated superior overall quality with respect to size, color, firmness, flavor, yield, storage and shipping. Used for apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach, plum and interspecific fruit types.
Farmers Market Favorite™: varieties that have demonstrated, where adapted, consistent production of especially desirable, high-flavored fruit for local farmers market/fruit stand distributiion.
Zaiger Variety: developed by Zaiger's Inc. Genetics of Modesto, California. Dave Wilson Nursery is the exclusive U.S. licensor and primary propagator.
Note: Fruit and nut varieties in the Commercial Catalog are offered exclusively to commercial growers in commercial quantities for the purpose of commercial fruit and nut production. Products in this catalog are not offered for resale.
