Savage River State Forest Orchard
On May 27, 2021, 17 wild American chestnuts were planted in the Peapatch Lane orchard in Garrett County. These seedlings join another group of about 20 trees planted two years earlier. These seedlings are part of the Maryland Chapter’s germ plasm preservation effort that is part of TACF’s effort to develop a blight resistant American chestnut hybrid. These seedlings will require about a decade to reach sufficient maturity to bloom and have nuts. By that time the parents of these trees will likely have succumbed to the blight. Wild American chestnuts are relatively common in western Maryland, but the vast majority of these trees are small understory trees with little chance to grow sufficiently to bloom and have nuts. And the majority of the trees that do have nuts are not in easily accessible locations. By creating germ plasm orchards with better access and growing conditions than in the wild, the Chapter hopes to have an important source of wild American mother trees for the next generation of hybridization.
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Check out this reel by the Seed Crown Company! They are testing whether Seed Crown shelters can help with direct seeding chestnuts in a forest setting.
In this video, Scott Laseter heads out to a montane longleaf restoration area on Georgia's Pine Mountain for the first tally of a direct seeding trial for American chestnuts.
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Check out this informative short video by the Georgia Chapter! It shows you how we process catkins and store pollen for chestnut breeding.
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Amazing work being done by the Kentucky Chapter! If you want to participate in this amazing work, they are having another field work day on June 16th, where they will be doing controlled pollinations. No experience required!
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I put another 200 chestnut trees in the beautiful Kentucky soil, irrigated with mountain spring water, prayed for the success of the trees. My Lord provided precipitation and humidity to a perfect 86% during the planting. Two minor equipment failures (operator malfunction). Tonight, will bath in the holy water provided by Him and rejoice in winning in his name.
June is packed with activities! There are numerous provisional field work projects that haven’t yet been added to the Event Calendar. If you’re interested in participating in your Chapter's planting, pollination, and various field tasks, please contact them to express your enthusiasm. Additionally, consider subscribing to their newsletter, which regularly provides updates on upcoming events.
Check out our event calendar: tacf.org/events/category/tacf/
#events #fieldwork #americanchestnut #nonprofit #volunteer
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Barbara Stovall
The USDA has announced its desire to shut down or repurpose the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), putting TACF’s important chestnut orchard at risk.
This orchard is especially valuable because the trees are growing in soil naturally affected by Phytophthora root rot (PRR), allowing researchers to evaluate disease resistance under real-world conditions. It includes predominantly American chestnut hybrids that have shown promising resistance and could soon provide a vital source of seed for restoration efforts.
We are asking members and volunteers to contact their representatives in Congress and urge continued access to BARC to help preserve this irreplaceable research and restoration resource.
#americanchestnut #contactcongress #calltoaction #conservation #environment
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Does the blight that affects the American chestnut live in the soil or is it airborne? I own several acres that once was a surface coal mine. The reclaimed soil is void of microbes (some consider it sterile). Empress trees grow on it, as well as many native species that don’t do so well in a mature forest. I’d like to try chestnut but not sure if it’s worth the investment.
That is a Chinese chestnut not an American chestnut
I hope they keep it open. These orchard are so important for forest restoration efforts. I created one for Butternut.