Patent Application
20140189913
Corylus avellana
‘York’
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Corylus plant (hazelnut, filbert), botanically known as Corylus avellana, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘York’. Corylus avellana is in the family Betulaceae.
The new Corylus resulted from a controlled cross of female parent OSU 479.027 (unpatented) and male parent OSU 504.065 (unpatented) made in 1997 by Shawn A. Mehlenbacher and David C. Smith. Hybrid seeds from the cross were harvested in August 1997, stratified, and seedlings grown in the greenhouse during the summer of 1998. From this cross, total of 183 seedling trees were planted in the field in Corvallis, Oreg., USA in October, 1998. ‘York’ was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Corvallis, Oreg.
‘York’ was originally assigned the designation OSU 878.048, which indicates the row and tree location of the original seedling. OSU 479.027 is from a cross of OSU 231.111 (unpatented)×OSU 226.122 (unpatented). OSU 504.065 is from a cross of OSU 186.080 (unpatented)×VR 17-15 (unpatented). The pedigree of ‘York’ includes ‘Barcelona’ (unpatented) widely grown in Oregon, ‘Casina’ from Asturias, Spain (unpatented), ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’ from Piemonte, northern Italy (unpatented), ‘Montebello’ from Sicily, Italy (unpatented), and ‘Tombul Ghiaghli’, a Turkish cultivar obtained from Greece (unpatented).
The new cultivar was asexually reproduced by rooted suckers annually for eight years (2003-2010) in Corvallis, Oreg. The new cultivar was also asexually propagated by whip grafting in Corvallis, Oreg. The unique features of this new Corylus are stable and reproduced true-to-type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘York’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘York’ as a new and distinct cultivar:
In comparisons in two replicated trials conducted in Corvallis, Oreg., plants of the new Corylus differed from plants of the Corylus avellana cultivar Barcelona (unpatented), and other cultivars and selections of Corylus avellana known to the Inventors primarily in nut size, nut shape, kernel percentage (ratio of kernel weight to nut weight), frequency of blank nuts (nuts lacking kernels), time of pollen shed, time of nut maturity, length of the husk or involucre, and plant size.
The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new cultivar, showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Foliage colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Corylus.
The cultivar York has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype. The aforementioned photographs and following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Corvallis, Oreg. under commercial practice outdoors in the field during the fall, winter and spring. Plants used for the photographs and description were propagated by tie-off layerage and growing on their own roots, and about seven years old. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 1966 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.
10Ns
Breeding (available on-line).
This invention was made with government support under Specific Cooperative Agreement No. 58-5358-4542 awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture. The government has certain rights in the invention.
