Morphological and pomological characteristics and yield of organic and conventional grown 'Çakıldak' hazelnut

Scientific studies have greatly increased the importance of the nutrition-health relationship. The perception of healthy nutrition has also increased interest in organic (biological) agriculture and organic food production. Recently, organic production in hazelnut cultivation has attracted attention, as in some other crops. In this study, it was aimed to compare the phenological, morphological, pomological and yield characteristics of hazelnuts grown in organic and conventional farming. In this study, which was carried out in 2021 and 2022 on the 'Çakıldak' hazelnut variety grown in organic and conventional agricultural systems in Kumru district (Ordu province of Türkiye), the experimental design was planned with 3 replications according to random blocks. In the study, the phenological characteristics of plants were the time of leaf bud burst, the beginning of fruit set, cluster formation, time of ripening and period of leaf fall; among the morphological characteristics, circumference, length and diameter of trunk, shoot length, leaf width and length, petiole length and thickness, leaf area and trunk cross-sectional area; pomological characteristics include nut weight, nut size, shell thickness, kernel weight, kernel size, internal cavity and kernel percentage; among the yield and yield parameters, the total number of nuts in the plant, the rate of good nuts, the rate of nut defects, the rate of empty nuts, the rate of defective kernels, yield and cluster drop rates were determined. No significant differences were observed in terms of phenological characteristics between agricultural systems. Statistical analyzes revealed that the trunk circumference and leaf development of the plants were significantly higher in the conventional orchard, the nut and kernel characteristics did not change significantly compared to the agricultural systems, the rate of good nut and pre-harvest cluster drop were significantly higher in the conventional orchard, and the rates of empty nuts and defective kernels were also significantly higher in the organic orchard. Keywords: Corylus avellana, Phenology, Nut, Quality, Ecological farming, Vegetative growth