Kerrin Hester
Member
American Chestnut tree in Maine 115 feet tall and about 100 years old,there is another one in Maine that is 95 feet tall
Native American Chestnut Comeback?
- Thread starter cagantpr
- Start date
letemgrow
Well-Known Member
Maybe the stories are all nostalgia, but the original trees seemed to be worth the trouble to me with what they did.
There are still trees impacted by the original blight sweep that still coppice right?
Pure Americans can be in a constant cycle, given an orchard setting. Some are in dieback, some are growing, some are fruiting. Sara Fitzsimmons with Penn State had some good pics of an orchard just like that.
How do the trees only survive 15 years exactly from the blight? I thought they could coppice indefinitely?
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Kerrin Hester
Member
Estimates of 400 million stump sprouts or 10% of the original 4 Billion American Chestnuts in their native range,possible some of those could develope some blight resistance given time.There are estimated 100+ Blight survivors across the native range of some 200 million acres
Kerrin Hester
Member
Check out this site Mater Maker Film
shedder
Active Member
https://matermakerfilm.com/american-chestnut/
Good info and pixs by Steve Hartman
.
Says he will offer seed this year. His trees have blight.
He wants to plant 100,000 100% pure American Chestnuts.
Good site thanks.
possum
Active Member
They could but not always. Blight will effect most trees in a number of places within a few years. Many trees die back and resprout but once blight attacks the stump the tree is done. Most of the old ones left out there are lucky to be in a good area but would likely die if given a dose of blight. And seedlings from old, living American Chestnuts do not show any better resistance to blight.
Another major factor that American Chestnuts have to contend with is root rot. Root rot, like the blight is just about everywhere in the eastern US. Especially agricultural and heavily timbered regions.
15 years was just a number I guessed as an average before the tree is done. I’ve grown some that didn’t make it 3 years. I’ve also got some that are going on 9 years.
I am direct seeding 70 or so pure American Chestnuts and about 20 B3F3 American Chestnuts on my farm next month. I will update how they do.
Another major factor that American Chestnuts have to contend with is root rot. Root rot, like the blight is just about everywhere in the eastern US. Especially agricultural and heavily timbered regions.
15 years was just a number I guessed as an average before the tree is done. I’ve grown some that didn’t make it 3 years. I’ve also got some that are going on 9 years.
I am direct seeding 70 or so pure American Chestnuts and about 20 B3F3 American Chestnuts on my farm next month. I will update how they do.
Merle Hawggard
Well-Known Member
http://www.wvforestry.com/nursery.cfm?menucall=nurse
They've sold out this year, but the Clements Nursery in West Virginia sells pure American Chestnut seedlings. The ACCF used to sell seedlings and this is where they came from.
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shedder
Active Member
http://www.apsnet.org/publications/...ues/Documents/1984Articles/Phyto74n03_296.PDF
FYI If it matters to you, ACCF seed is not blight free. They told me seeds do not carry blight but they do. I planted their seed in a blight free area to my regret, maybe. Someone close by did the same and they saw signs of blight or, at least, a similar fungus. Their trees have the strain that kills in a year, according to ACCF.
FYI If it matters to you, ACCF seed is not blight free. They told me seeds do not carry blight but they do. I planted their seed in a blight free area to my regret, maybe. Someone close by did the same and they saw signs of blight or, at least, a similar fungus. Their trees have the strain that kills in a year, according to ACCF.
Kerrin Hester
Member
I have about 50 trees from ACCF seeds that were planted in 2013 4 of them only got the blight last year and 3 of them are actually recovering(will see how they do this spring) the 4th got ambrosia beetle that killed the main stem that I cut down only to have stump sprouts pop up which I cut back except for the tallest one that is 5 feet tall.There is blight resistance in some pure American Chestnut trees.I should have dozens of viable nuts this fall if not more if not more!The majoraty of mine are planted on a farm site that used to be a tobacco patch and several of those trees are 25 feet tall with no blight,the other orchard that I have5 trees at are at the edge of a forest with 100's of oak trees around,blight country if you will and no sign of blight yet picture below.
pinetag
Well-Known Member
Are you planning on collecting and distributing some in the fall? I'd love to get some.
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Kerrin Hester
Member
pinetag
Well-Known Member
Cool, put me on the waiting list please. My daughter wants to help me with my habitat improvements so i'm sure she would love to do the roasting part too and i have never tried them but i certainly would. Although it would be a few years from the planting date...LOL.
Kerrin Hester
Member
will do
letemgrow
Well-Known Member
Can the blight survive in soil? I thought it could not, so seed’s would be void of blight?
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Kerrin Hester
Member
Soil microbes kill the blight in the soil,Blight attacks the trunk and branches not leaves ,flowers or fruit,I am pretty sure but not positive.The blight girdles the stem and chokes the Phloem which kills anything above it.The TACF after 8 years will infect an orchard with 2 strains of blight(a mild strain and and really bad strain) to see which trees show blight resistance.I volunteered to help do this in a orchard in Kentucky of about 130 trees from pure Americans to f1 hybrids all the way to B3f2 trees.They kept 30 trees that showed some blight resistance for observance and only 5 or 6 trees that showed resistance to the bad blight strain.If those 5 or 6 show continued resistance they will use them in the breeding program.
shedder
Active Member
Soil fungi are supposed to kill, or compete with blight, as far as I know but planted nuts can spread blight.
letemgrow
Well-Known Member
Sounds more like competing than killing. Unless those seeds are spreading the spores before being planted. Anyone know what other tree species carry the blight, but do not get affected like the chestnut species?
Oaks are one I thought?
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