It is crucial nowadays to focus on environmental care and seek for a new approach to solving such an important issue as food security and food supply. There aren’t enough plant based products to meet the demand, thus a search of new raw sources, studying their nutritional potential along with the expanding the range of their possible uses is urgently important. Among the various species of wild-growing and cultivated nut plants hazelnut, which originates from the genus Corylus L. – (Corylus domestica Kosenko et Opalko) should be considered with a special attention. Not only it has high nutritional value and positively effects on human health but is also used in landscape gardening, horticulture and various industrial spheres, being known as a tree which prevents soil erosion. Nevertheless it is essential to consider the variety composition and to form a proper design of plantation so that to create highly productive hazelnut orchard.

Hazelnut is a perennial bush plant which in natural conditions forms a large number of shoots (usually 15-30). Trees range in height from 4 to 9 m and have crowns with diameter ranging from 5 to 10 m. Poor, slightly moist soils usually result in undersized hazelnut bushes which grow no higher than 3-5 m and develop a crown having 4.6 m in its diameter.

Within seven years of studies of hazelnut’s productivity it has been shown that the first yields were obtained in 2012, but their value was too low and varied strongly depending on the characteristics of the variety and duration of the growth and development of plants.

Throughout 4 years of research it was found out that the most productive variety is “Lozovskyi Bulavovydnyi”, which showed the productivity 613.4 kg/ha whereas the lowest yield was obtained from such varieties as “Svichkovyi” (147.7 kg/ha) and “Trabezund” (158.6 kg/ha).

Throughout years of research it was discovered that productivity of hazelnut mostly varied depending on the varietal characteristics. Thus, the lowest yield was obtained in 2012 (11.2 kg/ha) from variety “Funduk-45” (“Hazelnut-45 “) and 277.2 kg/ha from variety “Obilnyi”. In 2013 70.0 kg/ha were harvested from “Svichkovyi” variety and 456.4 kg/ha from”Lozovskyi Bulavovydnyi”. 2015 was marked as the most productive year with the highest yield: from 237.1 kg/ha (“Trapezund”) to 902.4 kg/ha (“Lozova clavate”).

It should be pointed out that compared to other varieties of hazelnuts such varieties as ”Pyrizhok”, “Ukraina-50”, “Obilnyi” and “Lozivskyi Bulavovydnyi” are characterized by early onset of fruiting compared to other varieties of hazelnuts.

Through the years of research scientists have found out that “Lozivskyi Bulavovydnyi” variety turned out to be the most productive one and was later used to investigate how crown formation results in fruiting. Thus, it has been proved that the hazelnut harvest is largely dependent on the formation of the tree structure.

Throughout 4 years of experiments researchers observed the highest productivity applying the method of crown formation called “Vohnysche”. Such crown design allowed to harvest 613.7 kg/ha from young trees which is 435.1 kg/ha more than in prior control experiment. Moreover, calculations showed that it was 438.6 and 338.8 kg/ha more compared to crown formation technique “Derevo” and “Tatura” respectively.

Analysis of productivity fluctuations shows that a significant difference of this indicator is relevant compared to control data.

An application of crown formation techniques “Derevo” and “Tatura” resulted in lower yields compared to control at 3.5 kg/ha and 96.3 kg/ha respectively. Consequently, it follows from the stated above that the effect the structure of hazelnut trees has on their productivity is strongly essential. Therefore, crown formation techniques allow optimizing growth and vegetation conditions of experimental plants at the same time relying on environmental potential. It is also necessary to consider the fact that such crown formation techniques as “Derevo” and ‘Tatura” allow to increase productivity 1.5-2 times provided that acceptable parameters of plantation density are taken into account. Besides, productivity of hazelnut is strongly dependent on the soil type. Therefore, yields vary significantly on ashy black soils (Ukrainian Right-Bank Forest-Steppe) due to varietal characteristics and the methods of designing fruiting structures (i. e. crown formation). Thus, the greatest yield obtained in 2015 from Lozivskyi Bulavovydnyi variety equaled 902.4 kg/ha. It was the harvest, received through applying formation technique “Vohnysche”, which requires planting of 4-5 hazelnuts into one a planting pit and the formation of single skeletal branches with individual root system.

Key words: hazelnut, productivity, crown shape, nut, variety, planting schem.