Chestnut Common Garden Experiment at University of Rhode Island – Trowbridge & Buczynski

Published October 14, 2024

2024 Poster Session

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Trowbridge, R, E; Buczynski, M, L

The University of Rhode Island, 45 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881

Poster: Chestnut Common Garden Experiment at University of Rhode Island, Trowbridge, 2024

Abstract

After the accidental introduction of the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica from Asia to the United States in 1904, the American chestnut (Castanea dentata), a once dominant species in eastern forests, became functionally extinct in the wild. Conservation efforts to restore this iconic tree have concentrated on hybridization strategies with the blight-resistant Chinese chestnut, C. mollissima, to confer blight resistance into hybrids. Since the blight has devastated C. dentata populations for the past century, scientists have worked to better understand the genome of this native tree. Partnered with The American Chestnut Foundation, the University of Rhode Island (URI) planted a common garden in June of 2024 in Kingston, Rhode Island. The common garden is composed of 689 individuals of 33 different hybrid crosses, one C. dentata control, and one C. mollissima control. These hybrids have origins from states including Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia. The URI common garden was organized on a grid system with lettered columns and numbered rows so that each individual may be identified with a unique space code. Each individual was given a randomized assignment and planted directly into the orchard from the seed phase. The chosen crosses for the orchard were identified as the “best by best” hybrid crosses from studies done by the American Chestnut Foundation. Since June of 2024, germination, height, leaf observations, and health observations have been recorded in a database created by URI students. The URI chestnut common garden will continue to be utilized as a resource to better understand blight resistance and environmental resilience for chestnut hybrid crosses.