INNOVATION IN THE HAZELNUT ORCHARD: THE ZARAGOZA SYSTEM AND SINGLE-TRUNK MANAGEMENT

A recent technical visit by agronomist Vito Vitelli to the Lari Agricultural Farm in Avellino offers a deep dive into a six-year-old hazelnut orchard managed under the Zaragoza System.

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This approach clearly departs from local hazelnut growing traditions, focusing on operational efficiency, structural order, and economic sustainability, with the aim of creating a more modern and functional orchard.

Training System: From Bush to Single Trunk

The defining feature of the orchard is its training system.
Unlike the traditional bush system with multiple stems, often characterized by vegetative disorder and numerous basal suckers, this orchard adopts single trunk management with well defined characteristics:

• Each plant develops a single trunk approximately 70 to 80 cm high
• The hazelnut tree assumes a structure similar to that of an almond tree
• The main branches are trained upward using the “open hand” and “central light cone” techniques, improving light penetration, air circulation, and canopy health

This structure allows for more orderly plant management and a better distribution of productive vegetation.

 

 Operational Efficiency and Cost Reduction

One of the main advantages of the single trunk system is labor rationalization.

• Fast pruning: approximately 500 plants per hectare can be pruned in a single day
• Easier mechanization: the continuous vegetative wall allows the use of pruning bars for lateral return cuts
• Simplified harvesting: the presence of a single trunk facilitates under row cleaning and sucker removal, and allows the possible use of trunk shakers, reducing time and operating costs

The result is an orchard that is more efficient, less costly to manage, and better aligned with the needs of modern agriculture.

Planting Layout and Productivity

The orchard currently features a planting layout of 5 × 4 m, corresponding to about 500 plants per hectare.
According to Vitelli, the system can be further improved through increased planting density.

Proposed intensification

• Row spacing: 6 m
• In row spacing: 2 to 2.5 m
• Final density: 700 to 800 plants per hectare

Production

• Current yield: about 3 kg per plant
• Average yield: 15 quintals per hectare
• Target at full production:
• 4 kg per plant
• 30 to 40 quintals per hectare

These figures make the system highly competitive from an economic perspective

Varieties and Low Impact Plant Protection

Varieties

• Tonda di Giffoni as the main cultivar
• Gentile Romana as the pollinizer, planted along the orchard borders to take advantage of natural air movement

Plant protection
The adopted strategy follows an organic or low environmental impact approach, based on:

• Kaolin or gypsum from quarries in the Trapani area
• Sulfur
• Soft potassium soap
• Beneficial microorganisms

This strategy helps to limit:

• Sunburn
• Physiological stress
• Insect attacks, particularly from stink bugs

Ripening
In the current season, ripening is about 15 days earlier than usual, with harvest expected around mid-August.

 

Conclusion

The experience of Azienda Agricola Lari, led by Giuseppe Lanni, demonstrates that meaningful innovation is possible even in areas with a long-standing tradition in hazelnut cultivation.
Transforming the hazelnut tree from a bush form to a single trunk structure:

• Improves canopy organization
• Reduces management costs
• Encourages mechanization
• Increases technical and economic sustainability

This is a clear example of how modern agronomy can enhance traditional crops without compromising their identity.

Keywords:
#Hazelnut #Hazelnutorchard #Zaragozasystem #Singletrunk #Hazelnutcultivation #Modernagriculture #Pruning #Mechanization #Sustainability #AgronomistVitoVitelli

Editorial note:

Original content by Agronomist Vito Vitelli, developed and optimized with the support of artificial intelligence tools for educational, informational, and technical dissemination purposes.

Outreach activity carried out in collaboration with: