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Working meetings were held regarding the hazelnut decline (dieback) in Western Georgia

The working meetings were held in Western Georgia within the framework of the LEPL Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture’s project "Research into the Causes of Sudden (Rapid) Decline of Hazelnuts and Its Prevention’’.

Zurab Khidesheli, Head of the Department for Research of Integrated Plant Protection, and Zviad Bobokashvili, Head of the Fruit Growing Research Division, conducted seminars for specialists from the municipal information-consultation services at the Regional Services of the Rural Development Agency in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Guria regions.

The meetings focused on the issues of rapid hazelnut decline that has recently spread across Western Georgia. Participants were presented with extensive presentations detailing the main symptom complexes of the disease, its distribution area, and the results of local and international modern laboratory analyses (ELISA, PCR analysis) of the causing pathogenic organisms. Furthermore, preventive and curative measures to combat the disease were outlined.

Special attention was paid to the timely implementation of recommended agrotechnical measures for farmers, particularly the importance of preventive spraying with copper-based preparations during the spring period. The working group, established by a special order at the Scientific-Research Center to study the problem of rapid hazelnut decline, continues its complex research into the causes of the disease and the development of practical recommendations. Similar meetings are planned in the Imereti region and the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, as well as the holding of seminars and field trainings across Western Georgia for hazelnut-producing farmers.