Planting Time in the Joint Performance Trials

Nothing happens very quickly in the world of woody crop breeding.  It's a long slow slog that takes patience and perseverance, which is what makes weeks like last week so enjoyable.  Both myself in Wisconsin and my colleague, Lois Braun, in Minnesota spent pretty much all of last week planting hazelnuts and not just run of the mill hazelnuts.  We were planting clonal layers from our 1st Generation selections in replicated field trials.  After more than a decade working on these selections we were finally able to plant larger-scale field trials. Shown above is one of six Joint Performance Trials (JPT) established in the Upper Midwest in 2017.  This trial at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station in Verona, WI now includes five selections from the Grimo breeding program (Marion, Frank, Aldara, Andrew, Northern Blais), two selections from the Consortium program (OSU 541.147, Gran Traverse), and 9 of our UMHDI 1st Generation selections (Arb 7-1, Shep Rosy, Cuddy 2-28, Heas B, Arb 4-2, Rose 9-2, Price W41, SPC-2D5, and Price W41).  Once available, our plan is to add the rest of our selections plus some additional selections from Grimo, the Consortium, and Rutgers in 2019.  

These six Joint Performance Trials in the Upper Midwest (Verona, WI, Bayfield, WI, St. Paul, MN, Staples, MN, Fenton, IA, Cedar Rapids, IA) are intended to compare the very best germplasm being developed for the colder regions of the Eastern US and Canada to help growers make decisions when purchasing plant material in the future.   We are excited to announce a new location being planned for 2019 in Saint Camille, Quebec!    

​Contributed by Jason Fischbach