FERNOR

The Fernor walnut variety is one of the most important nut varieties originating from France. It was bred by crossing the Franquette and Lara walnut varieties. Fernor is extremely frost tolerant and highly resistant to bacterial and fungal diseases. This and the combination of early fruiting and high yields make Fernor a variety that can be used everywhere in commercial and home garden cultivation. Today, Fernor is highly valued for the exceptional quality of its light core and wonderful taste.

Growth / crown

The Fernor walnut is a medium-growing walnut tree. Fernor grows upright and picturesque with a medium branching angle, relatively slowly and also remains quite small overall. The height is about 10-15 meters. The pinnate, slightly fragrant leaves are arranged alternately and are about 20 cm to 30 cm long. When crushed, the leaves give off an aromatic, special balsamic scent and have a bitter, acrid taste. Like many other lateral bearing varieties, Fernor requires fertile and deep soils to reach its productive potential.

The Fernor walnut tree develops an upright, rather narrow crown. Fernor lends itself to high density planting. An optimal distance would be e. g. 6 x 5 meters, which places the trees in the row closer together, leaving enough space between rows. This planting scheme results in early and high yields. The pollinator varieties, which we recommend, are Fernette and Franquette and can be mixed into the same rows. Pollinator trees should be planted downwind of the main variety to aid upwind pollen dispersal and pollinate the main variety.

Flowering time / leaf sprouting

The Fernor walnut is a late budding and late flowering variety. As with the Franquette variety, the growing season begins in the second half of April. The date of bud burst is around April 21st.

Fernor is a protandrous walnut sort, male flowers bloom a little earlier than female ones. The green male flowers are droopy. The female flowers can be found both at the end of the branches and laterally on the branches. The flowering period falls between May 1st (male full bloom) and May 12th (female). The phenological stages of Fernor correspond to those of Franquette (+/- 1 day). Fernor combines good health and resistance to bacterial and fungal diseases with late budding, making it well suited to locations prone to late frost.

Starting in November, the Fernor walnut tree goes into hibernation after the first frost. The newly grown branches are mature and lignified by then, which means that shoots grown in the growing season do not suffer from early winter frosts.

Fernor is suitable for planting in any deep, well drained, nutrient rich, loamy soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH and at a maximum height of 1800 meters above sea level.

Pollination

Fernor is only partially self-pollinating, the proximity of another variety increases the yield significantly. Fernor's pollinators are e. g. Fernette or Franquette. It is recommended to plant 1 up to 3 Fernette tree for each 30 Fernor trees. Good pollinating partners are also Ronde de Montignac or the Lara variety. The Fernor walnut tree is a good pollinator for other varieties such as Lara or Chandler.

Yield

The high-yielding Fernor walnut variety starts bearing early. The walnut tree produces its first yields after just 3 to 5 years. Productivity is very high − on average 1 ton per hectare is harvested at the age of 6 years and often 4-5 tons of dried nuts per hectare at maturity.

Fernor belongs to the laterally bearing varieties, i.e. the fruits are formed not only on the tips of the shoots, but also on lateral branches. The rate of fruiting on the side branches is 90%. This high fruit setting leads to a regular and rich fruit load.

Years after planting	Yield per hectare (ton)
1-2	-
3-5	✓
6	1 ton
10	4-5 tons

Nut quality

The fruits of the Fernor walnut are among the most beautiful of all walnut varieties. They ripen in the first half of October and have an average weight of 12.4 g. 60% of the nuts are larger than 32 mm. The caliber is slightly higher than Franquette. The nuts of the Fernor variety are strikingly yellow in color, quite oblong, sometimes elliptical like Franquette, but with a bumpier rump. The nuts have a classic shape with a beaded seam.

The core color is bright and light. Core weight is 6.9 g on average and the core completely fills the pericarp. The kernel makes up 44 to 48% of the total weight of the nut. The nut kernel has an aromatic, slightly sweet outstanding taste without tannins or bitterness. The pericarp is medium-thick (1.7 mm), light-colored, quite smooth, little grooved and can be cored easily.

The aromatic taste of the walnuts is simply unmistakable.

Harvest

The ripening period is from end of September to mid-October (26.09-10.10).

Disease resistance and frost tolerance

In general, the Fernor walnut variation is a healthy tree with high resistance to bacterial rot (Xanthomonas arboricola pathovar. juglandis) and anthracnose (Gnomonia leptostyla). Fernor is completely hardy and therefore ideal for locations with low winter temperatures. The walnut tree is largely resistant to late frost and is drought tolerant. Overall, the tree is vital and adaptable to different climatic conditions.

Height & Growth	medium growing, upright growing
Tree crown	upright, rather narrow crown
Flowering	late leafing and late flowering. It combines good health and resistance to bacterial and fungal diseases with late sprouting and thus the suitability for late frost endangered layers.
Flowering type	Protandrous
Self fertile	partially self-pollinating
Pollination	different types of varieties from the German assortment or the French varieties: Lara, Franquette and Fernette
Terminal or Lateral	90% lateral bearing variety, therefore very high yields
Fruiting	early fruit bearing, yield already after 3-4 years, regular and good cropping. On average, 3.5 t / ha are harvested.
Fruit	medium-sized fruits - about 12.4 g.; 60% of the fruits are larger than 32 mm.;. The nuts are striklingly yellow in color, quite oblong, less often elliptical shape with a with a bumpier rump; They have a classic shape with a beaded seam.
Shell & pericarp	light, slightly finned, medium thick (1.7 mm), nut with good seam
Kernel	light, more than 2/3 filled, easily shelled, medium crackling, excellent taste without bitterness
Harvest	End September / Early October (26.09-10.10.)
Oil content	62%
Kernel %	44-48%
Winter hardness	high − optimal for layers with low winter temperatures
Frost susceptibility	high resistance to late spring frost
Drought resistance	drought resistant
Sensitivity to bacterial blight and anthracnose	high resistance to bacterial burn and anthracnose

Walnuts Bulgaria has many years of experience in planting and growing walnut saplings. To help with your plans and goals, we provide you with this online calculator. Please note that it is recommended to use 3 - 10% (of the total amount of trees) of the pollinator variety Fernette.

Please enter the land size in hectares below to calculate the number of trees you can plant.

Land size: (hectare)

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