Pistachio Varities in The World

By Allah Dad Khan

Pistachios

• are cholesterol-free and high in monounsaturated fat, which is a good fat and means that they, along with other nuts, will help protect you from heart attacks. The copper, magnesium, and B vitamins in pistachios all strengthen your immune system, making your body fit.

• California-grown and dry roasted to perfection. This is the nut where green is good. Buy them in the shell or just the kernels.

European cultivar

Aegina

• ‘Medium size fruit, long and similar to " Mateur ". It comes from Greece and it also gives good results in Spain.

Mateur EU

• Long fruit, average size, yellow greenish colour and good taste quality. It was selected in Tunis and it gives good results in Spain. In Castilla-La Mancha it ripens at the end of August.

Larnaka ‘

•Average size pistachio, less long than ‘Mateur ". Original from Cyprus. It is cultivated in Greece and in Spain, giving good

Turkish cultivar

Uzun Tu

• Pistachio nut of average size, long and clear green. It is cultivated in Turkey.

Kirmizi TU

• Kirmizi ‘Pistachio nut of average size and reddish colour. Along with the cultivar Uzum, it is the most cultivated variety in Turkey.

Abiad miwahi ‘

•Pistachio nut of average size, white colour and excellent quality. Cultivated in Turkey

Syrian cultivar

Achoury

• Achouri ‘ Pistachio nut of average size, red colour, excellent quality and very productive. Cultivated in Syria.

Alemi

Elbataury

• Thick fruit of whitish colour and good quality. Important cultivar in Syria.

Obaid

Ayimi

Iranian cultivar

Momtaz

• Sefideh-Montaz" and " Imperiale de Dameghan" The fruit of these varieties is round, thick and yellowish. Very appreciated in Iran.

California

• Probably 97% or more of the pistachio acreage in California is planted to the Pistacia vera female cultivar called ‘Kerman’ and a P. vera male called ‘Peters’.

Kerman

• • selected, in 1929, from seed imported from Rafsanjan, Iran • named in 1952 • released for trial in 1957 • grown on 1700 acres in 1977 • grown on approximately 170,000 acres in California in 2008.

Peters

• Peters Male • found by A. B. Peters from Fresno, CA. (originally may have come from Armenia) • good producer of durable pollen • bloom period continues for three weeks • initial spring bloom usually slightly ahead of Kerman. Bloom period coincides with Kerman very well most years.

Red Aleppo

• compared to Kerman: • one of the first varieties planted in CA • flowers earlier in the year • equally alternate bearing • earlier harvest • more shell staining? • lower percentage of clean, edible inshell split nuts • smaller nut size, crisper kernel • trees more difficult to train – hanging branches

Joley • Joley (released from California program in 1980) compared to Kerman: •

blooms earlier (one week) • earlier harvest (one week) • smaller, flatter and narrower nut • similar percentage of clean, edible split nuts (fewer closed shell) • tendency toward light stain (may be do to lack of huller availability early in season) • comes into bearing earlier? • similar tendency to alternate bear