VA – Inoculations at Blandy Arboretum

This event will take place on Monday and Tuesday from 9 am to 3 pm

Here is a Google map link to the chestnut orchard location.

Testing our orchard trees for blight resistance requires inoculating them with the blight. We do this by boring a hole in the bark, removing a plug of bark, and replacing it with a disk of agar and mycelium, the chestnut blight fungus. The agar and mycelium are cut from a culture of the fungus in a Petri plate. Our experience has been that a crew of three people can inoculate two plots of 180 planted nuts per day, from 9 am to 3 pm. The work is low to the ground and requires you to follow a set protocol. Reasonable agility and attention to detail is all that is required. Training is relatively quick. You will learn to recognize naturally occurring blight and gain general knowledge of the selection and testing process.

Prepare to get dirty and protect yourself from possible poison ivy. Long pants, long sleeves, gloves, and a hat are recommended. Bring water and lunch.

RSVP here : https://theamericanchestnutfoundation.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=90482