Hazelnuts and Tree Fruits

The Willamette Valley is well suited to production of orchard crops. The Valley is the birthplace of the Pacific Northwest cherry industry (Milwaukie, OR), and once held vast acreage of walnut and prune orchards. There have always been some commercial apple, pear, and peach orchards , and niche orchard crops such as persimmons, fig, and Asian pears also produce well here . Currently, the dominant commercial orchard crop is European hazelnut ( Corylus avellana ) with more than 70,000 acres in the Valley now dedicated to production. This is a very unique nut industry and we produce most of the domestic supply and some of the highest quality nuts in the world.

We work closely with the industry to help solve problems related to hazelnut production.

The North Willamette Research and Extension Center is home to the Orchard Crops Research and Extension Program led by Dr. Nik Wiman, which has the mandate to provide applied research and Extension for the Oregon hazelnut industry. This includes research on:

Insect pests (including the invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, BMSB ) and beneficials
Nutrient management
Irrigation management
Emerging disease issues.

We also work with other orchard crops including peaches, almonds and cider apples. We offer a number of workshops in any given year covering topics such as pruning, pest management, and cover crops.

Report sighting of stink bug

Photo by Betsy Hartley (Cropped from original)

Our Projects

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

Portal for information about BMSB and to report a sighting.

May 2019 | Online resource

Hazelnut Applied Research and Extension

Information on how to support the Orchards Program and their research efforts.

May 2019 | Online resource

Wiman Lab

Current research includes IPM for new and old hazelnut pests, hazelnut nutrition, hazelnut water use/irrigation, and cider apple production. Primary interests are population biology of insects, biological control, sustainable orcharding and grower outreach.

Nik Wiman | May 2019 | Online resource

The Orchard Program also grows a variety of peaches, nectarines and almonds at the NWREC.

Photo: Nik Wiman
After dropping to the ground, hazelnuts are swept into rows, and then collected by machines.

Photo: Nik Wiman