Grand Traverse

‘Grand Traverse’ originated from Michigan and is reported as a cross of ‘Faroka’ (F1 Turkish tree hazel [C. colurna] x European hazelnut hybrid) with the European hazelnut ‘Royal’ (Farris, 1989) (note that the S-alleles do not support ‘Royal’ being the pollen parent, but it appears to be European nonetheless). It is an upright, semi-vigorous tree with a slightly spreading growth habit. ‘Grand Traverse’ is a 25% Turkish tree hazel hybrid, which is evident in its corky bark and elongated “fingers” on its nut husks. It is believed to get its EFB resistance from ‘Faroka’. Kernels are compressed and slightly pointed, very free of fiber, and have an average weight of 1.3 grams and close to 50% kernel by weight In New Jersey. It has S-alleles 11 and 25 with both expressed in the pollen, and blooms in mid-season in New Jersey. It is compatible in both directions with all of the cultivars listed above. Note that past studies at Rutgers have shown it to be resistant to EFB in New Jersey and with the pathogen collected across multiple locations (Molnar et al., 2010a). However, in 2018 a few small cankers were observed on ‘Grand Traverse’ plants at Rutgers; thus, it should not be considered immune to the disease, but tolerant. This cultivar has performed well in tests in Lincoln, NE, but in New Jersey the late maturity of the nuts (drop last week of September) and low yields suggests its value is primarily as a pollinizer.