Chestnut Chat: History of American Chestnut Breeding and New Innovations

Join us on Friday, September 20, 2024, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.

Assisting Evolution: The History of American Chestnut Breeding and New Innovations

Special guests Mike Aucott, John Scrivani, and Jared Westbrook will discuss American chestnut breeding from the 1950s to the present, exploring various methods, goals, and the results that have been achieved.

Mike will discuss the F1-F2-F3 Timber Type program and Large Surviving Americans (LSAs) established at Codorus State Park, PA. The late Dave Armstrong originally planted these to diversify the breeding materials available to TACF.

John will discuss the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s (CAES) Timber B1s and B2s, LSAs, and advance backcross tree planted at Lesesne State Forest in central Virginia.

Jared will discuss plans for TACF’s recurrent genomic selection program (RGS) and how we are using trees described by Mike and John to supplement populations of backcross trees located among TACF’s network of growers.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE (via Zoom Webinar)

Pre-registration is required to attend this event. Pre-register here. After registering you will receive a unique URL link to join the event on the day of the chat. You can also add the event to your calendar from the webinar registration approval page. The meeting will open 15 minutes prior to the start time to allow an audio and video test.

Featuring

Mike Aucott

Bio coming soon.

John Scrivani

John Scrivani is a retired Forest Scientist from the Virginia Department of Forestry, Virginia Chapter President, and Chair of the Restoration Committee. He received an M.S. in Forestry from Clemson University and a PhD in Forest Management from Oregon State University. He was on the faculty of Virginia Tech for 5 years. In 20 years with the Virginia Department of Forestry, he managed programs in applied silviculture, tree breeding, seed production, geographic information systems, and forest inventory. He performed his first controlled chestnut pollination in 1990 at Lesesne State Forest and has helped manage the chestnuts there for 34 years.

Jared Westbrook

Jared joined TACF in January 2015 as the organization’s new quantitative geneticist. Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jared earned a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan, an M.S. in Botany, and a PhD in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Florida. His dissertation research studied the genetic enhancement of resin production in loblolly pine stems for use in liquid biofuels. Jared works extensively with the Meadowview Research Farms Laboratory and commutes from Asheville to take TACF’s breeding program to the next level.