The morphological and chemical variability of Turkish Hazel (Corylus colurna L.) fruits in Turkey

Abstract

Turkish hazel (Corylus colurna L.) is naturally distributed in southeast Europe, Anatolia, the Caucasus and Western Himalayas. In Turkey, there are many isolated populations in the Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean, and Central Anatolian Regions. Many of the small populations in Turkey are endangered. In this study, the morphological and chemical characteristics of Turkish hazelnut fruits collected from seven populations were researched. In this regard, considering the morphological characteristics of fruits and kernels, significant differences were observed between the populations. Length, width, thickness, and weight averages were 15.98 mm, 15.38 mm, 12.00 mm and 1.4651 g in the fruits, and 13.03 mm, 11.22 mm, 7.64 mm and 0.5047 g in the kernels, respectively. The average shell thickness was 1.92 mm, shell weight was 0.9604 g, and kernel ratio was 35.16%. Statistically significant differences were found out between the populations whose chemical contents were analyzed. As a result of the analysis, the average fat content, protein, starch, and ash were 64.1%, 15.9%, 10.2 g, and 2.5%, respectively. According to the averages in the obtained fatty acids, the main fatty acids were oleic acid (79.53%), linoleic acid (11.34%), palmitic acid (5.68%), and stearic acid (2.03%), while the rest of other oils were found in trace amounts. Overall, our results suggest that the information relating to morphological and chemical characteristics of Turkish hazelnut can be useful for discriminating among populations.