Hi,,, That is just what we have done here in NY, with the NY chapter of TACF working with SUNY-ESF in Syracuse. We are just waiting for government approval so we can distribute the transgenic material. The American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project. We have been working on this for over 34 years and expect/hope to have government approval in August of next year, 2023. https://www.esf.edu/chestnut/ If anyone wants more information or to be involved just send me an email. [email protected] I am the president of the NY chapter of TACF. https://acf.org/ny/
Chestnut trees
- Thread starter Kingfisher
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Lucky_P
Well-known member
Eb,
The butternut canker/blight is a completely different microorganism from the Chestnut blight fungus. But... chestnut blight fungus does have alternate hosts - oak species, red maple, shagbark hickory, to name a few - that can keep it going in an area so it is there to infect any new susceptible chestnuts that might pop up or be planted.
In addition to ACF, there is the American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation, a shoestring operation housed tat VPI. They are/were working toward breeding blight-resistant American Chestnuts using only pure American chestnuts that had shown blight resistance. My last ACCF seedling, one of 10 or so that I planted in 1996, woke up dead this year.
I'm linking a Word document that I 'lifted' from James Nave on a Chestnut growers FB page; has some good info for folks interested in growing chestnuts for eating &/or wildlife... though he doesn't specifically address TX.
The butternut canker/blight is a completely different microorganism from the Chestnut blight fungus. But... chestnut blight fungus does have alternate hosts - oak species, red maple, shagbark hickory, to name a few - that can keep it going in an area so it is there to infect any new susceptible chestnuts that might pop up or be planted.
In addition to ACF, there is the American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation, a shoestring operation housed tat VPI. They are/were working toward breeding blight-resistant American Chestnuts using only pure American chestnuts that had shown blight resistance. My last ACCF seedling, one of 10 or so that I planted in 1996, woke up dead this year.
I'm linking a Word document that I 'lifted' from James Nave on a Chestnut growers FB page; has some good info for folks interested in growing chestnuts for eating &/or wildlife... though he doesn't specifically address TX.
Lucky_P
Well-known member
The Chestnut Improvement Network at U. of MO HARC is doing some of the best research on chestnuts for commercial use. Check 'em out, here:
www.chestnutimprovementnetwork.com
If interested in buying some top-quality chestnut seednuts to plant for seedling production, the CIN seed sale for 2022 will close on 1 Sept. Details here:
Chestnut Improvement Network
www.chestnutimprovementnetwork.com
If interested in buying some top-quality chestnut seednuts to plant for seedling production, the CIN seed sale for 2022 will close on 1 Sept. Details here:
Thank you to everyone that has responded to this thread. This is a lot of excellent information.
I have sent them an email to inquire about which varieties would be best suited for the environment in my area. I may have to pull @kenny thomas out of retirement to teach me the forestry ropes.The Chestnut Improvement Network at U. of MO HARC is doing some of the best research on chestnuts for commercial use. Check 'em out, here:
Chestnut Improvement Network
If interested in buying some top-quality chestnut seednuts to plant for seedling production, the CIN seed sale for 2022 will close on 1 Sept. Details here:
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Already been done for the Chessnut. A wheat gene was isolated and inserted into the Chessnut. Waiting on Govt Approval before it is released.
"This wheat gene produces an enzyme called oxalate oxidase (OxO), which detoxifies the oxalate that the fungus uses to form deadly cankers on the stems"
I don't know a lot about the Chestnut trees as I remember the rotting trunks laying in the woods around the house many years ago as listening to my grandpa that fed the chestnuts to their hogs when he grew up at Hensley Settlement.
There use to be some chestnut bushes or looked like chestnut bushes it the mountain in front of my house that I would pick them up and ate. I ate one and I remember seeing a half worm and I thought dam I just ate the other half. After inspecting all of them close they all had worm holes. Just in my lifetime we have lost so many trees it is sad. The blight killed the Chestnut trees in the early 1900's, before my time.
There use to be some chestnut bushes or looked like chestnut bushes it the mountain in front of my house that I would pick them up and ate. I ate one and I remember seeing a half worm and I thought dam I just ate the other half. After inspecting all of them close they all had worm holes. Just in my lifetime we have lost so many trees it is sad. The blight killed the Chestnut trees in the early 1900's, before my time.
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Caustic Burno
Well-known member
Some of the chinquapin have some blight resistance and the chinquapin foundation is trying to breed them to develop a blight resistant tree. You may want to contact them about your tree. SUNY-ESF is also crossing their blight resistant Darling 58 transgenic American chestnut with chinquapin to develop a blight resistant hybrid. They will cross the offspring several times with the chinquapin until they have a hybrid tree that is almost pure chinquapin. They can do this very quickly as they can get a seedling to produce pollen in just one year by given them 16hrs of sunlight/day. In just 5-6 years they can have a blight resistant chinquapin that is over 90% chinquapin. BUT, they would rather have a pure blight resistant one from the chinquapin foundation if possible. The breeding with the Darling58 is just for a backup if the traditional breeding does not produce a blight resistant tree. ESF could insert the wheat gene into the chinquapin and have a pure chinquapin, BUT if they did they would have to submit that to the government for approval, while if the Darling58 is approved there is no regulation to breeding it with the chinquapin to get the wheat gene into it. So screwed up!!
Lucky_P
Well-known member
Maysville KY (ol' inyati/Bright Raven's neck of the woods) is now home to the largest continuous commercial planting of chestnuts... Mountain Gentry Chestnuts currently has 5300 trees of an anticipated 9000 to be planted by the end of this year, using planned crosses grown from seeds out of the UofMO HARC plantings. Saw some recent drone photos, where they'd been in and mowed/baled the cover crop forage in between the rows... trees at planted on 20'x20' spacings.
Logan52
Well-known member
When this part of Kentucky was settled it was common practice to keep 20 per cent of the new farm in woods in order to have a supply of rails for fencing and firewood for home use. Many of these woodlots were never totally cleared but are certainly not virgin timber, they supplied split rails for "snake fences" and post and rail fence construction. Even though selectively logged of their best timber and grazed by cattle and hogs, they began to mature a nice woodland through the 20th century. Huge spreading white ash, yellow oak, slippery elm, spignut hickory, butternut, and American elm left an open understory filled with spicebush and dogwoods.
Almost all these have disappeared since I bought the farm in 1972. We still have some nice walnuts and shagbark hickories but even the mulberries and sycamores are in decline. The black locust, the ideal fence post, survive but borers make them useless by the time they mature. Honey Locust and Osage Orange still thrive but I consider them weeds.
The woods that once were open enough I could see a cow that had gone there to calve a hundred yards away. Now the dead trees have opened the canopy and multiflora rose and bush honeysuckle grow rampant and it is hard to see ten yards in front of you and riding a horse, or even walking through the woods is impossible.
I do not think any crossbreeding or whatever will ever bring back what we once had.
Almost all these have disappeared since I bought the farm in 1972. We still have some nice walnuts and shagbark hickories but even the mulberries and sycamores are in decline. The black locust, the ideal fence post, survive but borers make them useless by the time they mature. Honey Locust and Osage Orange still thrive but I consider them weeds.
The woods that once were open enough I could see a cow that had gone there to calve a hundred yards away. Now the dead trees have opened the canopy and multiflora rose and bush honeysuckle grow rampant and it is hard to see ten yards in front of you and riding a horse, or even walking through the woods is impossible.
I do not think any crossbreeding or whatever will ever bring back what we once had.
Edit: I found my answer. They sell trees.
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Mtn Gentry is located in Olive Hill Ky. That's about 70 miles from Ron(bright raven).
