Very few multi-national food businesses cast a shadow as long or wide over a  commodity crop like Ferrero does with hazelnuts. Each year the company consumes about a quarter of the world’s supply.  Not surprisingly, the company’s annual reports are poured over by analysts looking for signals about the future health and prospects of the hazelnut sector.

Latest UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report on pesticide use - Australian Hazelnuts grown in “Clean Green” conditions.

The Hazelnut Tree Borer (Maroga melanostigma) is increasingly observed, with a 20% rise in sightings, particularly during the peak months from October to January. This blog post delves into the implications of these trends, discussing the impact of modern reporting technologies and the ecological shifts that may influence moth populations. It emphasizes the importance of timing in biological control measures, specifically the introduction of Trichogramma egg parasitoids to disrupt the borer's lifecycle. Insights from national biodiversity databases and related

An agronomist colleague in Tasmania sent me these photos last week — and they make a compelling case for keeping Hazelnut Tree Borer (Maroga melanostigma) pest populations as low as possible.

The burrowing pest larvae are proving irresistible to hungry black cockatoos, who have discovered a rich, winter source of protein and fat buried deep inside tree trunks and limbs.

A study on hazelnut aphids revealed that all surveyed trees had aphids, with the highest count exceeding 65 on a single leaf. Trees at orchard margins showed higher counts, emphasizing the need for reduced weedy areas. Additionally, empty nuts were noted, suggesting cumulative aphid damage impacts nut quality.

They are all technologies that China has researched, developed, applied, extended and exported to the world.