ABSTRACT

Tree nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pistachio have long been grown for consumption and as a food ingredient. It is estimated that 4 million metric tons of tree nuts are produced each year in over 40 countries. Demand is rising, in part because of research on the nutraceutical benefits of tree nuts. At the same time, these crops face particular challenges such as safety in the face of allergens and mycotoxin contamination. There is a need to increase production but in a more sustainable way in the face of climate change. This collection reviews the wealth of research addressing these challenges. Part 1 discusses the growing number of studies on the health benefits of tree nuts. Part 2 addresses safety issues. The remaining two parts assess advances in genetics and breeding of tree nuts, as well as advances in cultivation and the management of pests and diseases of tree nuts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part 1 Improving health, safety and sustainability

1.The nutritional and nutraceutical value of walnut: Turan Karadeniz, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey; Faik Ekmel Tekintaş, Adnan Menderes University, Turkey; and Seyit Mehmet Şen, Kastamonu University, Turkey;

2.Advances in understanding the nutritional profile and health benefits of almonds: Özlem Tokuşoğlu, Celal Bayar University, Turkey;

3.Advances in understanding health benefits of hazelnuts: Loretta Bacchetta, Silvia Procacci and Barbara Benassi, ENEA-Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Italy;

4.Uses and health benefits of chestnuts: Eduardo Augusto dos Santos Rosa, Maria Cristina Seixas Martins Morais, Ivo Vaz Oliveira, Berta Maria de Carvalho Gonçalves Macedo and Ana Paula Calvão Moreira da Silva, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), Portugal;

5.Advances in understanding health benefits of pistachio: Pablo Hernández-Alonso, Mònica Bulló and Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain;

6.Advances in detecting tree nut allergens: Stef J. Koppelman and Melanie L. Downs, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA;

7.Integrated disease management in tree nut cultivation: Andrea Vannini and Carmen Morales-Rodríguez, Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest systems (DIBAF) – University of Tuscia, Italy;

8.Tree nut cultivation, ecosystem services, biodiversity and conservation: Gabriele Beccaro, Marta De Biaggi, Chiara Ferracini and Simona Bonelli, University of Turin, Italy;

Part 2 Improving individual types of tree nuts

9.Towards sustainable production of walnut (Juglans regia L.): Annarita Marrano and David Neale, University of California-Davis, USA;

10.Advances in cultivation of walnuts: D. L. McNeil, University of Tasmania, Australia;

11.Advances in cultivation of almonds: effects of genotypes, environment and cultural techniques: Ettore Barone and Francesco Sottile, Università di Palermo, Italy;

12.Advances in breeding of chestnuts: Teresa Barreneche, BFP, INRA, Université de Bordeaux, France; Roberto Botta, Università di Torino, Italy; and Cécile Robin, BIOGECO, INRA, Université de Bordeaux, France;

13.Advances in cultivation of chestnuts: Ümit Serdar, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Turkey; Toshihiro Saito, Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science, Japan; Beatriz Cuenca, Empresa de Transformacion Agraria S.A (TRAGSA) Maceda, Spain; Burak Akyüz, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Turkey; José Gomes Laranjo, University of Tras-Os-Montes (UTAD) CITAB, Portugal; Gabriele Beccaro and Giancarlo Bounous, University of Turin, Italy; Rita Lourenço Costa and Patrícia Fernandes, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Portugal; Maria Gabriella Mellano, University of Turin, Italy; and Pereira Lorenzo Santiago, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain;

14.Advances in breeding of pistachio: Salih Kafkas, University of Çukurova, Turkey;

15.Advances in cultivation of pistachio: Bekir Erol Ak, University of Harran, Turkey;

16.Developing hazelnuts as a sustainable and industrial crop: Valerio Cristofori, Stefano Speranza and Cristian Silvestri, University of Tuscia, Italy;

17.Advances in breeding of hazelnuts: Ali Islam, Ordu University, Turkey;