Filbert Cultivation

The deciduous filbert shrubs flowers in early spring. By late winter it produces the wind pollinated catkins. The male catkin or pollen is observed to be pale yellow in color, while the female pollen is bright red.

In order to make it possible for the tree to bear fruit, it is necessary to plant two or more filbert trees next to each other. The winter winds bring about the cross pollination of the flowers of the filbert tree.

Here are some factors for you to keep in mind recommended for the filbert tree care.

• A pH level of 6 to 7 is ideal for the soil used for the plantation of the filbert tree. Make sure that the soil is well drained.

• Water is highly essential for the growth of the filbert tree.

• These deep rooted and shade tolerant trees require full sun to yield filbert nuts.

Filbert Hybrids

Hybridized filberts are a combination of the disease resistance indigenous hazelnuts and the large and supreme quality European hazels. The filbert blight resiatant, Santium hybrid is one of the first hybrids of the University of Oregon.

Filberts Production

Estimated reports have shown Turkey to be the largest producer of filbert nuts. Turkey’s contribution is almost 75% in the overall hazelnut production in the world.
In US, however the two states of Oregon and Washington produce filberts in commercial quantities. Oregon filbert growers are home to the Willamette Valley. However the European filbert hazelnut is by far the most expensive and valuable of all the varieties throughout the world.

Filbert Harvesting

Mid autumn is generally selected as the most appropriate period to harvest filbert nuts. You will find that by late autumn the filbert tree begins to shed its leaves and nuts.

The process of commercial harvesting cannot be completed without a sweeper, nut cart, harvester and the forklift. All these equipments perform important functions in commercial harvesting.

The function of the sweeper is to move and arrange the nuts in the centre of a row. Twigs, leaves and any sort of junk are separated from the nuts by the harvester. The nuts that are selected by the harvester are held by the nut cart before the nuts are stacked into the carryalls by the forklift. Once the nuts get collected in the totes, they are shipped to the nut dryer or processor.

It is very important for the equipment operators to wear some sort of breathing protection as a precaution against the dusty orchards.

Filbert Nut Health Benefits

Filbert nuts comprise a rich diet and are vital for our well being and health.

• Filbert nuts containing oleic and linoleic acid, help to bring down bad cholesterol or LDL and increase good cholesterol or HDL. These monosaturated and essential fatty acids are extremely good for health. Research has shown that monosaturated fatty acids also help to keep strokes and coronary artery diseases at bay.

• Filbert nuts are packed with dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins that give strength to our body to combat against various cancers and diseases.

• These nuts are rich in vitamin E. This particular vitamin protects the skin from those harmful oxygen free radicals and acts as a strong lipid soluble antioxidant.

• Expectant mothers are suggested to stick to a healthy diet consisting of filbert nuts. Filbert nuts are a great source of folate that is a rarity among other nut nutrients. This vitamin is essential in the prevention of neural tube defects inside the fetus. Folate also combats nucleic acid synthesis and megaloblastic anemia

• The gluten free filbert nuts end up being a safe option for gluten sensitive people suffering from celiac disease and wheat allergies. Now everyone can enjoy the mouth watering gluten free food recipes.

• Filberts nuts are full of B- complex vitamins like niacin, panthonenic acid, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin.

• Filbert nuts comprise of various minerals that are vital for good health. These minerals include manganese, selenium copper, potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium.

The aromatic hazelnut oil acts as an excellent astringent, protecting your skin from dryness. This oil is popular in spa and message therapies owing to its splendid aroma and soothing properties. Hazelnut oil is extensively used in the cosmetic industry.

Sunflowers are beautiful and useful

 
Sunlight is very beneficial and important to the lives of all living beings, whether plants, animals, and humans. The depiction of the sun are usually rounded yellow with yellow flames around it.

Picture of the sun that makes the large size of the flowering plant with yellow color is often called the sunflower. So named because there are other reasons. Sunflower is always facing toward the sun where it rolled. At night, the flowers bowed down, while during the day, the flower show his face. This plant thrives in mountainous areas, areas that have a lot to get enough moisture and direct sunlight. The tree grows in lowland until height of 1500 meters above sea level.

Many people consider this a short-lived plants as ornamental plants only. You see, the shape and color of flowers is very interesting and beautiful eyes.

Trunked plants wet (herbaceus) grows up as high as 1 to 3 meters. The entire surface of the plant stem rough-skinned and have feathers. Heart-shaped green leaves. For flowers, large size with a crown shaped like a cup of yellow tape along the edge of the cup. In the middle of the cup there is a little flower-shaped tube with a brown color.

Cultivation of Wasabi japonica

In Japan, Wasabia japonica sometimes grows naturally in the gravel beds of mountain streams and is highly adapted to this environment. For commercial Wasabia japonica growing two types of cultivation methods are used. These are soil grown wasabi (Oka) and water grown wasabi (Sawa). Japanese growers select the method depending on where they live and the particular end use of the plants after harvest. Most wasabi farms are kept in the family and the last wasabi bed was reputed to be built alongside a mountain stream some 200 years ago. Due to the effects of acid rain and the weather in the mountains of Japan, a number of family farms are now being abandoned as younger members of the family immigrate to the cities.

Wasabia japonica plants grown in the soil require large amounts of organic fertiliser added to the soil before planting, and also require ongoing herbicides and pesticides used to maintain the health of the plants. Being a member of the cabbage family it is susceptible to the diseases of that family. The ground also needs to be kept damp at all times as the plant is regarded as semi-aquatic in its growth characteristics. It is regarded as good practice that the growing plot be abandoned after three harvests and not returned to for at least ten years.

If Wasabi japonica is grown in running water then less fertilisation needs to be used, although it is known that some Japanese and Chinese farmers will put sacks of chicken manure or blood and bone upstream from their farms to make the wasabi grow faster. Less pesticides and herbicides are used with this growing method, although the environmental impact is just as great.

All parts of the plant can be used for a number of products. The rhizome is the preferred part of the plant as it has the most active ingredients, but the petiole, roots and leaves are also used.

Most of the plant is used in food products, although now more and more of the rhizome is being used for Nutraceutical purposes. This was not the case in 1993 when the rhizome only was used for food products. The leaf and stem were pickled and only available in Japan.

The general concensus is that water grown Wasabia japonica (Sawa) produces larger rhizomes with more active ingredients, and for that reason is highly sought after and, therefore, command higher prices.

Soil-grown Wasabi japonica

Wasabia japonica requires specific environmental conditions to thrive. Soil-grown wasabi requires an air temperature from 6-20°C with 8-18°C considered optimal. Soils containing well rotted organic material with a pH 6-7 are considered best. It is most often grown on well-drained soil under mulberry or plum trees in Japan, whereas in New Zealand and China soil-grown Wasabia japonica is usually grown in shade houses rather than under trees.

Water grown Wasabia japonica

Water grown Wasabia japonica requires air temperatures ranging from 8-18°C. However, a narrower range of temperatures (12-15°C) is considered ideal. An air temperature of less than 8°C inhibits plant growth and at less than 5°C plant growth ceases. Other environmental factors can have an effect on the growth of Wasabia japonica and need to be considered carefully e.g. light levels, stable water temperature, good nutrient supply, and well aerated, neutral or slightly acidic pH water containing a high dissolved oxygen level and a large supply of water to maintain consistent flow (this particularly depends upon the growing system being used).

Rainfall accumulation is also important, with an even distribution desirable to stabilize the water supply and temperature. Spring water is considered best because of its clarity, stable temperatures and high level of oxygen. At warmer temperatures the dissolved oxygen in the water decreases, which inhibits the growth of plants.

Silty or muddy water is undesirable as it may contain insufficient oxygen, but some silt in the water is considered beneficial as a source of nutrients. In Japan, Wasabia japonica grows on the wet banks of cool mountain streams and springs in specially built growing beds. Overall, construction and establishment of a traditional growing bed is expensive and labour intensive.

Water grown Wasabia japonica is produced in 42 prefectures, and soil grown Wasabia japonica in 21, out of 47 prefectures in Japan, which indicates that flooded cultivation is popular and is considered to produce a high quality product.

The unique environmental requirements and shortage of cultivatable lands limit Wasabia japonica production areas to 880 hectares in Japan and 400 hectares in Taiwan, but demand for Wasabia japonica condiments is spreading from Japanese cuisine to modern western food. The increasing interest in Wasabia japonica and the inability to expand production in Japan has seen prices rise steadily since 1970. High prices have stimulated research into soil production methods and the investigation of production areas outside Japan. The Japanese have invested heavily in soil-grown wasabi farms in China.

Wasabia Japonica

History

Wasabia japonica, known as Japanese Horseradish (Wasabia japonica) is a native condiment crop of Japan. It is not known when Wasabia japonica was first brought into cultivation but Japanese historical records indicate that Wasabia japonica, known originally as wild ginger, was introduced as a medicinal plant by Sukahito Fukae. The first Japanese medical encyclopaedia called “Honzo-wamyo” was published in A.D. 918 and it states that “wild ginger” (Wasabia japonica) had been grown in Japan for at least a thousand years (1). During 1596-1615 A.D. Wasabia japonica cultivation began on the upper reaches of the Abe River in Shizuoka prefecture. Its use, however, was restricted to the ruling class by order of the Shogun Iieyasu Tokugawa (2). At present, the natural distribution of Wasabia japonica in Japan ranges from Russia’s Sakhalin island, north of Hokkaido (the most northern Japanese island) to Kyushu (the southernmost major Japanese island) (3).However, the Shimane region is the largest area of Wasabia japonica production and breeding research in Japan at present.

Wasabia japonica is now being grown in many countries in the world including New Zealand, Taiwan, Korea, Israel, Brazil, Thailand, Canada and USA. In New Zealand, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries introduced Wasabia japonica for experimental cultivation in 1982 The majority of their products are used in Nutraceutical products due to its high level of active constituents. Preliminary assessment of the growth and plant yield of soil-grown Wasabi japonica was carried out at Lincoln in 1995 (7). Yields of flavour compounds, as affected by fertilizer treatment, were carried out in 1997 (8, 9). Further research has been performed at Lincoln University to develop an understanding of Wasabia japonica growing in New Zealand, especially the agronomy, cultivation methods, ITC variation and stability (10). 

Botany of wasabi 

Wasabia japonica is a member of the Cruciferae family which also includes cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts, water cress, radish, mustard and horseradish. The European horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is a distant cousin of Wasabia japonica and is often coloured and mixed with mustard and other ingredients to produce a “faux” wasabi . The genus Wasabia consists of two species, Wasabia tenuis (an uncultivated species) and Wasabia japonica (the cultivated species). These two species are distinguished primarily by their cytology, stem size, colour, leaf size and shape.

Wasabia japonica is a glabrous, perennial herb that grows about 450 mm high, producing leaves on long petioles from the crown of the plant. As the plant ages the rhizomes start to form and, at maturity after 18 months, the Wasabia japonica plant has a distinctive thickened stem (or rhizome) connected to the heart shaped leaves by long, thin petioles.

Rhizomes are the most favoured plant part of Wasabia japonica. Dependent upon the variety, the plants have one or more main rhizomes and can have a number of secondary stems.

The lengths and weights of rhizomes vary widely between variety e.g. for Daruma – the single rhizome length ranges from 50 to 200 mm long and weighs 4 to 120gm. Wasabia japonica leaves are simple, cordate-reniform, undulate-toothed and 80-250 mm in diameter. Petioles are vertical to oblique, 300–500 mm long, basally flattened and surround the rhizome. Whole fresh plants can weigh up to 3.4 kg.

Wasabia japonica flowers are white, bracteate, arranged on racemes, with ascending sepal, cruciform and obovate petals, perfect septum, elongate styles and simple stigma. Fertilisation is mainly by cross pollination, and insects. Seeds must be stored in a cool moist environment, since dry storage will result in desiccation and loss of viability of the seed. Fresh seed is naturally dormant until it is vernalised by storing at a low temperature. Fresh seed is notoriously difficult to germinate, and methods are closely guarded by growers.