Walnut Tree Varieties
Chandler
Harvests mid-season; large smooth oval nut, with good shell seal, and high quality kernel. Kernel color excellent, light grade consistently 90% or better. Has potentially high fruitfulness with 80-90% of lateral buds fruitful. Medium size tree is a moderately vigorous and semi-upright, highly productive tree. Pollinizers are Cisco and Scharsch Franquette.
UC Wolfskill
UC Wolfskill is a result of a Chandler x Solano cross. It has an early harvest date, is a heavy yielder, and produces kernels that are consistently light.
It performed extremely well under stress in September 2022 heat wave, with > 85% light/extra light kernels from multiple trial locations across the state.
Howard
Harvests mid season. 80%-90% lateral bud fruitfulness. Leafing date is 15 days after Payne. Nut–large with good seal. Kernel 90% light. Tree–small to medium, semi upright. Nut susceptible to blight due to late leafing. Pollinizers are Scharsch Franquette or Cisco.
Tulare
Harvests mid-late. Recently introduced by University of Calif., leafing is approximately 12 days after Payne. Blooms late. Displays high production potential. Nut is large and well sealed. Kernel crackout is approximately 53% with kernel color at 85% light. Tree upright with moderate vigor. Potential hedgerow variety.
Hartley
Harvest mid to late. Consistent producer with high quality nuts. Leafing date is 16 days after Payne. Less susceptible to coddling moth and blight. Nut is large. Shell well sealed. Tree is medium to large, moderately spreading. Scharsch Franquette works well as a pollinizer.
Solano (USPPAF)
Solano leafs out 10 days before Chandler and 7 days after Payne and harvest is about 2 weeks before Chandler. It is precocious and is 100% laterally fruitful. In trials Solano has shown low susceptibility to blight when compared to other early varieties. The tree appears to produce high yields and consistently light kernels. Kernels are 8.0 grams and edible yield of kernels is 55%. Nuts are uniform and oval with suitable strength and seal for in-shell use. Solano's growth habit is of average vigor and size similar to Chandler. Suitable pollenizers are Chandler, Tulare, or Howard.
Ivanhoe (USPP# 21718)
A new and distinct variety that produces large, light-colored kernels and high yields. It is precocious and 100% laterally fruitful. Ivanhoe leafs out with Payne and Serr but the female bloom is about a week earlier than the male bloom. Ivanhoe harvests 4 weeks before Chandler, similar to Payne or Serr. The tree is moderately vigorous and is not resistant to blight, so consider planting in the driest of walnut growing regions.
Scharsch Franquette
Late harvest. Nut size is small and well-sealed, very good quality light kernel. Trees are large. Vigor is moderate to high and tree shape is upright. Good pollinizer for Hartley and Chandler.
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Serr
Yields can be disappointing due to pistillate flower abscission. Other varieties may also drop flowers, but Serr is most severely affected. Serr has 30 to 50 percent lateral buds that are fruitful. Leafing date is approximately 1 day ahead of Payne. Suitable pollinizers include Chico, Tehama, and other varieties that shed pollen in mid bloom. Harvest timing is early to midseason. Serr nut size is large (7.6 grams per kernel). The nut is a Payne type with a fair-to-good shell seals. Color is very good. Kernel percentage is high at 59 percent. Serr tree size is large. Shape is moderately spreading and vigor is good to excessive. Serr is susceptible to codling moth and blight.
Cisco
Cisco is late leafing, laterally fruitful, and a potential pollinizer for Chandler and Howard. It leafs out 30 days after Payne, and is ready to harvest 3 weeks after Payne. In growth habit, Cisco is semi-upright and relatively small similar to Chico and Pedro. The nut shell is medium to light in color with medium texture, similar to Franquette. The nut and kernel are slightly larger than Franquette, but there can be problems with kernel quality. Kernel color is variable. Its main attribute is as a pollinizer for the Chandler and Howard varieties.
Durham (PPAF)
Harvest about 10 days earlier than Chandler. Leafing date is late, making it better for blight avoidance, especially good for the Sacramento Valley area. Durham has a plump, light-colored kernel and a smooth, atttractive shell.
Livermore
Introduced in 1999 by University of California. The Robert Livermore is a walnut variety produced from a cross of Howard and Juglans purpurea making it the first patented red-kernel walnut. Its leafing date is close to Chandler, occurring around mid-April. The harvest date of Robert Livermore is around the first week of October. It has a lateral fruiting habit with a medium to high yield. Nut is medium to small and round with a good shell seal. Robert Livermore is a one-of-a-kind nut with appeal for specialty markets.
