Research and Breeding
Here is information and some links to the types of research and breeding activities that GA-TACF supports.
Mother Trees
Chapter members spend hours searching the mountains and hillsides of Georgia for American chestnut root sprouts that can be placed into our breeding program. One of the Chapter’s first pure American chestnut trees was found on Springer Mountain by Thomas Fowler and placed in the breeding program during the Chapter’s first breeding season. Since then many other trees have been located with the “Klaus” tree near Warm Springs bringing attention world wide as the most southern tree in the piedmont area.
Without the help of volunteers identifying new trees, our breeding program would come to a halt. Each “mother tree” can only be used to cross with one type of resistant pollen from TACF’s Meadowview Research Farm to produce about 100 backcross trees. This is usually accomplished within 2 years. The more trees we find, the more diverse the gene pool will become.
Orchards
Once nuts are harvested from the resulting backcrosses a suitable orchard must be located to plant them. Berry College was the first to offer a site that would house over 200 trees. The University of Georgia’s Mountain Research and Education Center in Blairsville became our second backcross orchard. Since then we have received many offers for orchard sites that are now in the testing stage. We test for soil suitability, predator protection and overall tree care to determine the best locations for advanced backcross trees. If you are interested in hosting a backcross or demonstration orchard, please contact us at gachapter@acf.org.
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This is a pure American chestnut in flower. Its source (and the smaller one on the left) is FDR State Park (Pine Mountain, Harris County), not far from Dowdell Knob. The small FDR population represents the most southern location for flowering wild American chestnuts in the U.S. (world!). Pollen and nuts from small "germplasm conservation" orchards like the one pictured can be extremely important for our chestnut restoration program. And most anyone can do this. In this site at Berry College, there are five trees planted in a 5 x 30 ft raised bed. Over the years, trees in this small space have generated hundreds of seedlings for our breeding program. Let us know if you'd like to do something like this and we will let you know how you might help (if you have received seeds or seedlings from us in the past, please update us on their condition!). Email gachestnut@gmail.com The American Chestnut Foundation
How can you tell if your tree is American Chestnut? My parents brought a chestnut tree home from Tennessee in 1968 on their honeymoon and it has flourished.
I'm interested! I live in Chatsworth close to the mountains that once were covered with these trees.
I live in pine mtn and would love to see the ones that are here.
Sending an email now.
I need some!!
Excellent! Very important trees.
Erin Kenner should we see about getting some seedlings for Chatt Bend?
Chestnut orchard work in progress at the Frank Milner Farm near Rome, GA. Pictured is Berry College intern Louis Durand after helping to cull some non-selected orchard trees. Beautiful day to be out there. The American Chestnut Foundation
Nice article in the Dahlonega Nugget about the new project at UNG's Hurricane Creek site. www.thedahloneganugget.com/news-newsletter/chestnut-tree-rescue-effort-taking-root
The American Chestnut Foundation
Chestnut tree rescue effort is taking root | The Dahlonega Nugget, Dahlonega, GA
www.thedahloneganugget.com
The American Chestnut Foundation has teamed up with the University of North Georgia Biology department and the UNG Environmental Leadership Center as part of a nationwide effort to restore the AmerLatest News
GA-TACF Annual Meeting May 13 2023
Calling all Georgia American Chestnut enthusiasts! The Georgia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (GA-TACF) will hold its annual state meeting on May 13th, 2023, in Dahlonega. The meeting will be held at the University of North Georgia Health and Natural...
GA-TACF Science Progress 2022
2022 was a very productive year for the Georgia chapter of TACF and its many citizen volunteers. Here is a quick summary of progress, starting with a summary of what we've been able to accomplish in the breeding program since 2006. Seed type Crosses American chestnut...
So you want to plant some chestnuts?
We're happy to be hearing from so many folks like you who are interested in planting chestnuts on their property. We’ve received a lot of requests for chestnut seedlings and that’s good news, since it indicates a high level of interest in restoring American chestnut...