Bear nut (Hazel tree)

Tree hazel (Bear nut) belongs to the Hazel genus, Birch family. Because of its beautiful and durable wood, hazel was cut down en masse. In nature it is found only in hard-to-reach places. The ability to grow at an altitude of more than 1700 m above sea level saved the bear nut from the final destruction of the variety. The tree is listed in the Red Book.

Description of bear nut

Tree hazel is a type of hazel. The only representative of its kind that has a tree as a life form. Its height in the wild reaches 30 m; in Russian latitudes the maximum height of the tree is 8 m. Life expectancy is 200 years.

The crown of the bear nut is symmetrical, pyramidal, thick, dense. The trunk is covered with deeply fissured bark and detachable plates of a light brown hue. Young shoots are drooping, gray. The foliage is large, 12-13 cm long and 8 cm wide, broadly ovate in shape, dark green in color. The base is heart-shaped, the edges are jagged. The length of the petiole is 3-5 cm. The buds are oblong, with reddish drooping, covered with small scales. Tree hazel retains its green color until late autumn. The root system of the bear nut is rod-shaped and deep.Allows the tree to hold firmly in the ground, which is why the plant is often used as forest protection plantings.

Tree hazel blooms early, in March or April. Male flowers have an oblong shape in the form of earrings, up to 12 cm long. Their color is light yellow. Female flowers are hidden in buds. The fruits are small, strong, oblong, flattened on the sides. The average size of the nuts is 2 cm. The shell is hard and thick. There is a seed inside the fruit. On top of the nut is a velvety, wide-open plus. The fruits are collected from nuts, 48 ​​pieces each.

Advantages and disadvantages of the type

Seeing a photo of tree hazel, you might think that the tree is devoid of all shortcomings.

However, this issue is worth understanding in more detail. Positive qualities of bear nut:

• climatic endurance;
• annual abundant fruiting;
• fruits are a dietary food product;
• excellent decorative qualities;
• best rootstock for hazelnuts;
• durability.

It is worth highlighting the disadvantages of bear nut:

• small fruits and hard shells;
• the tree is large and there are difficulties with harvesting;
• Fruiting occurs by 7-8 years.

Application of hazel tree

The fruits of hazel are used in the food industry. Nuts have high energy value. The consistency of the kernel is like butter. The composition includes useful microelements and vitamins.

The appearance of the bear nut is very attractive not only in the photo, but also in reality. A slender tree with large carved leaves and a compact crown is similar to a plane tree. Tree hazel attracts attention from afar and will easily decorate any landscape. It is used in landscape design, for decorating alleys and parks.Bear nuts are planted in groups or singly in botanical gardens.

Wood is valued in furniture production. It is dense, fine-layered, and has a beautiful reddish tint. Suitable for finishing cabins, state rooms, furniture production.

Optimal growing conditions

Forest-steppe, broad-leaved and mountain forests, and forest edges are considered the ideal growing areas for tree hazel in the wild. You can see bear nuts along rivers, in ravines, in places where there is high humidity. Calcareous, deep soils are preferable for tree hazel. Does not tolerate saline, compacted soils.

Bear nut is a shade-tolerant tree and grows quickly. Often forms thickets. It does not form pure stands and is found in mixed forests. Grows together with beech, oak, hornbeam, maple. Able to withstand temperatures down to -30°C and below. Therefore, it is widespread in Ukraine, Belarus, Asia Minor, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and the Balkans. In Russia it is found in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

Planting and caring for bear nut

Tree hazel seedlings with a closed root system have a rapid survival rate; they are planted in early autumn. The culture prefers only fertile, well-drained soils. It is recommended to add compost or organic humus to areas with poor and sandy soils. When choosing a location, it is worth considering that the distance to the neighboring tree should be at least 5 m.

Preparatory work for planting tree hazel consists of the following steps:

• preparing a hole 60x60 cm and 50 cm deep;
• applying 0.5 kg of mineral fertilizers and 10 kg of humus;
• moistening the pit with water.

Immediately before planting, the roots of the bear nut are trimmed and dipped into a clay mash. This promotes better survival. Afterwards, the tree is watered abundantly, and the circle around the trunk is mulched.

Caring for tree hazel is simple. The main thing is to regularly remove weeds and loosen the soil to ensure unhindered access of air to the roots, as well as water, fertilize, and prune.

1. The first watering is carried out a week after planting the bear nut. In the future, once every 30 days is sufficient. Thus, during the growing season the frequency of irrigation is 6-7 times.
2. The norm for one hazel tree is 30-50 liters. In dry summers you need to moisturize more often.
3. In the first year, the soil under the seedling should not dry out.
4. It is recommended to feed bear nuts in the spring. During the swelling of the buds, 50 g of ammonium nitrate is added under the tree.
5. The second time nitrogenous fertilizers are required is in July, which simultaneously stimulates fruit ripening.
6. In autumn, hazelnuts need to be fed with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers. The procedure is repeated every 3 years.
7. Bear nut pruning is carried out annually in the spring, before the start of the growing season. The tree only needs sanitary pruning.
8. The surrounding circle must be regularly loosened to a depth of 5-7 cm.
9. Weeds need to be removed, this will make it easier to cut off the root shoots.

Reproduction

In the wild, bear nut reproduces through seeds and root shoots. In garden farms, the crop is propagated by cuttings, grafting, dividing the bush, and layering.

1. Arc layers. In spring, a lateral annual shoot is bent down and placed in a trench 15 cm deep.The stem is secured with pegs, and the top remains above the surface. Sprinkle with soil and water periodically. By autumn, roots will appear. The area should be disconnected from the mother plant and transplanted to another location.
2. Offspring. Approximately 1 m from the hazel tree, young shoots sprout from the roots. After 2-3 years they are used as fully developed planting material. The peripheral shoots of the bear nut are dug up and separated from the roots with an ax. These seedlings can be planted in a hole several at a time.
3. Bush division and grafting. For grafting, it is recommended to use wild hazel tree, as it does not produce offspring. Cuttings are performed in the spring, and budding in the fall. The upper parts of the bush are suitable for cuttings. They are cut in winter and stored until warm under the snow.

It is important that each half has roots 25-30 cm long. The sections are disinfected with crushed activated carbon.

Diseases and pests

Despite the fact that hazel is considered a stable crop with good immunity, it is still susceptible to diseases and attacks from harmful insects.

1. Powdery mildew. Symptoms: white coating on leaves, stems, fruits. Over time, it darkens and acquires a dense structure. The affected areas die. Bear nut becomes more susceptible to cold weather.
2. White rot. A fungal disease from which the tree suffers greatly. If measures are not taken in time, the tree hazel may die.
3. Fungal rust. Symptoms: the appearance of orange spots on the leaf blade, the edges curl upward, and dry out.
4. Aphid. It feeds on plant sap, which subsequently leads to death.The fruits of a diseased bear nut do not ripen.
5. Kidney mite. A small insect that spends the winter hiding in the buds of a nut. There he lays eggs. And in the spring, the affected buds dry out.
6. Nut weevil. The bug is 10 mm in size. Its females lay larvae in unripe fruits. If measures are not taken in time, up to 50% of the harvest is lost.
7. Walnut leaf beetle. A pest that eats hazel leaves.

Fungal diseases are fought with the help of fungicides: Falcon, Topsin, copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture. And pests are destroyed with insecticides: Fufanon, Kemifos, Karbofos.

Conclusion

Tree hazel is a beautiful tree. However, using it solely for decorative purposes is wasteful. There are not many varieties of nuts in the human diet. In addition, the high content of proteins and microelements makes it a dietary, medicinal product.

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