BIO Walnut tree (Juglans regia) FERNOR

English Walnut (Juglans regia) 'Fernor'

"The Hardiness Champion" – a premier French variety featuring late budding, extreme productivity, and a delicate flavor without bitterness.

The 'Fernor' variety is considered a true milestone in modern walnut breeding. This French unique variety combines two seemingly opposite traits: the late budding typical of mountain varieties to escape frosts, and the massive productivity of modern commercial walnuts. It is the ideal choice for professional orchards and home gardens in areas where other varieties fail due to spring freezes. With its premium kernel quality and mild flavor, 'Fernor' ranks among the absolute best in the world.

Main advantages of the variety:

• Late Budding: Perfect protection against damage from late spring frosts.
• Extreme Productivity: High lateral bearing with yields reaching up to 3.5 t/ha.
• Premium Flavor: Exceptionally sweet and mild kernel with no trace of bitterness or tannins.
• High Resistance: Strong immunity to bacterial blight (Xanthomonas) and anthracnose.
• Kernel Quality: Light color and the ability to easily extract full kernel halves.
• High frost resistance and excellent adaptability to various regions.

Origin and Breeding

• Origin: France (INRA Institute, 1995).
• Crossing: A purposeful cross between 'Franquette' and 'Lara'. Its direct genetic sibling is the pollinator 'Fernette'.

Variety Characteristics

Tree

• Vigor and Habit: Medium to strong vigor, upright. The tree grows very healthily and vitallity, naturally maintaining a structure suitable for mechanical harvesting.
• Flowering and Pollination: Blooms late and is protandrous (male catkins shed pollen before female flowers are receptive). For maximum yield, it requires a pollinator, ideally 'Fernette' (or 'Lara', 'Franquette').
• Bearing Type: Lateral variety – bears fruit on both terminal and side shoots.

Fruit

• Size and Shape: Large nuts (diameter over 32 mm) with a slightly elongated to spherical shape.
• Shell and Kernel: The shell is thin, aesthetically clean, and moderately grooved. The meaty kernel (6 – 7 g) has a beautiful light color and 40 – 44% kernel yield.
• Flavor: Sweetish, creamy, and very delicate. Highly prized for the lack of bitterness in the kernel skin.

Resistance and Requirements

• Diseases: Features high resistance to the most serious walnut diseases – bacterial blight and anthracnose.
• Frost: Fully frost-hardy. Thanks to late budding, it is suitable for higher and less sheltered locations in Central Europe.

Harvest and Yield

• Harvest Time: Late variety. Fruits ripen in the first half of October.
• Yield: Extremely high with a very early onset of bearing. Mature orchards reach average yields of up to 3.5 tons of dry nuts per hectare.