The year 2020 has forever shaped and changed the way business is conducted around the world. As COVID-19 began to spread throughout the world in the early months of 2020, the ability to adapt in the face of uncertainty became of utmost importance. And now, in the last two months, it appears that COVID-19 has made itself a part of our lives for the foreseeable future. In the face of all the uncertainty and doubt, the nut and dried fruit business has had to do its best to adjust and remain strong. Starting in April, and every two weeks or so, the INC has posted a COVID-19 update to give members the latest information.

The Brazil nut and the Amazon rainforest are inseparable and as deforestation, wildfires, and land grabbers destroy the rainforest, the negative chain effect begins. Therefore, the conservation of the Brazil nut and the Amazon rainforest depend on each other, thus affecting the millions of people who call the Amazon region home.

Digital Agriculture deals with the implementation and integration of digital data, sensors and tools on agricultural applications from the paddock to consumers. These technologies can range from: big data, sensor technology, sensor networks, remote sensing, robotics, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Data processing is performed using new and emerging technologies, such as computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence, among others. The latest advances made by the DAFW group for crop monitoring/decision making, assessment of the quality of produces, sensory analysis for consumer perception assessment and animal stress and welfare assessment are presented in this article.
 

Hazelnut is an economically important tree nut for which demand currently exceeds supply. Plantings have expanded in many current production areas, and orchards have been established in areas new to hazelnut production. Nearly all world production is based on selections from the local, wild vegetation, but new cultivars from the Oregon State University breeding program with ‘Gasaway’ resistance to eastern filbert blight (EFB) are now being widely planted. This article describes five cultivars for the kernel market: ‘Tonda Pacifica’, ‘Dorris’, ‘Wepster’, ‘McDonald’, and ‘PollyO’. All have high yields, high kernel quality and nuts that are nearly round with few defects. 

Hazelnut and pecan byproducts are a great source of antioxidants such as phenolic compounds. The addition of antioxidants from nut-byproducts as agents to improve the properties of modified starch-based materials results in a potential food packing material.

Hazelnuts are a wide-spread valuable species. This manuscript is devoted to the features of the hazelnut cultivation in the countries of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS countries) including a description of the most promising varieties, main breeding directions, and cultivation systems. Currently, about 20 countries all over the world industrially produce hazelnuts. Turkey, Italy, USA, and Chile are the main manufacturers of hazelnuts. In the CIS countries, Azerbaijan occupies a leading position in the cultivation of hazelnuts with 23 thousand ha, while Georgia (16 thousand ha) and Krasnodar Region (2 thousand ha) take 2nd and 3rd places. The rising demand for final products has significantly increased the interest in this crop in countries where hazelnuts are not a local crop.

The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in our lifetimes. As the world grapples with the severe implications of this novel virus for people’s health, it is undisputable that the world economy and businesses are facing struggles as well.

Australia and the United Kingdom both consume large amounts of nuts, but in general, over the past decade, the Australian nut industry has enjoyed faster and more rapid growth. Through research conducted by the Australian organization Nuts for Life, former Chairman Chris Joyce sheds some light on what might be causing the expedited growth of the Australian industry.

The “beauty from within” movement looks at how natural and nutrition-based approaches can influence the health of the skin. While there are surely many cosmetic treatments that range from lasers to botulinum toxin to fillers that treat from the outside, the demand for internal and nutritional approaches to beauty and health has risen considerably over the past five years. Japan tops the list of countries with an insatiable demand for supplements and internal approaches, followed by China, US, France, and Italy in that order. Whole foods are now beginning to join the list of functional foods in this health and aesthetic space to meet this rising demand.