Economic analysis of the structure of maintenance costs for young hazelnut plants (before the fruiting period) under various planting patterns

Abstract

The article presents the results of an economic analysis of the cost structure for maintenance of young hazelnut plantations of the Barcelona and Catalan varieties (before they enter a fruiting period), based on a comparison of two placement patterns – 5.0 × 3.5 m (570 plants/ha) and 5.0 × 3.0 m (666 plants/ha).
Accounting for all expenses made it possible to identify a less labour-intensive and capital-intensive planting pattern which is the 5.0 × 3.5 m pattern (with a lower planting density per unit area) – by 12.5 and 7.3 %, respectively, compared with the 5.0 × 3.0 m pattern. However, the use of a denser planting pattern of 5.0 × 3.0 m (with a higher planting density per unit area) reduces the capital costs for the maintenance of young plantations before the plantations became fruit-bearing – by 44.7 (for the Barcelona variety) and 68.5 % (for the Catalan variety), due to the greater yield per unit area, compared to a 5.0 × 3.5 m pattern.
Hazelnut trees of the Barcelona and Catalan varieties, with the two planting patterns studied in the experiment, entered the fructification in the 5th year after planting, when the yield obtained in actual selling prices exceeded all the costs of the current year for maintaining for young plantations.