Abstract
The old walnut (Juglans regia L.) genotype called “Esterhazy II” was well-known in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy before World War II, and it can still be found in the Austrian, German and Swiss backyard gardens today. Unfortunately, nowadays, vegetatively propagated progenies of the original “Esterhazy II” are not available anymore around the world because walnut grafting started later than this genotype had become well-known. Although various accessions with “Esterhazy II”-“blood“ are available, it is difficult to determine which one can be considered true or the most similar to the original one. In this paper, phenological and nut morphological characteristics of an “Esterhazy II” specimen planted in a Hungarian gene bank were compared to the varieties “Milotai 10” and “Chandler”. Examined characteristics were: budbreak, blossom time, type of dichogamy, ripening time, nut and kernel features. An additional SSR fingerprinting was used to identify identical genotypes and to demonstrate the relatedness of the analyzed “Esterhazy II” genotype to the other Hungarian walnut cultivars. It can be concluded that under the name “Esterhazy II”, several different genotypes can be observed. All the checked characteristics except budbreak fitted well with the previous descriptions. Our results confirmed that the examined “Esterhazy II” genotype shows high similarity to the “original“ “Esterhazy II” described in the literature.
Highlights
The basis of the Hungarian walnut assortment is provided by the selected varieties derived from the Carpathian race [1,2], which selections are thought to be native/indigenous [3]
This paper aims to describe the phenological and fruit morphological characteristics of one “Esterhazy II” specimen, planted in the core collection of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (HUALS) Research Institute for Fruit Growing and Ornamentals, and to compare it with the two most widespread varieties, “Milotai 1” and “Chandler”
The variety showing the earliest budbreak in the described trial was “Milotai 1”, followed by “Chandler” and “Esterhazy II”
Summary
The basis of the Hungarian walnut assortment is provided by the selected varieties derived from the Carpathian race [1,2], which selections are thought to be native/indigenous [3] These genotypes have unique characteristics [4], such as early ripening time and large fruit size [5]. Apart from the previously mentioned old walnut genotypes, Esterhazy II (syn: Eszterházy II, Eszterházi 2, Estherházai II, E II) still has importance. This genotype was well-known in the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and it is still popular nowadays, especially in the German-speaking countries. Even if “selected” “Esterhazy II” genotypes can be found in some core collections worldwide, they have a probable seed origin, may be different from each other
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