Chestnut Background
Chestnut Science Resources
- American Chestnut History
- Native Range Map
- TACF Science Strategies
- TACF Resources
- Student Program
- American Chestnut Tree Identification Resources
- How to Plant Chestnuts
- Penn State Listserv – TACF Grower’s List
- Backcross Breeding Chart
- American Chestnut Cooperator’s Foundation
- Grafting Resources
- History of Chestnuts at Sugarloaf Mountain
Tree Identification
Is this an American chestnut tree?
TACF chestnut identification resources
Appalachian Trail MEGA-Transect American Chestnut Project Resources:
- American Chestnut Tree I.D. Resources for Onscreen Viewing
- Booklet Version for printing 20 pp on 5 sheets (both sides)
- Pack Along Version – for printing 8 double sided cards on 2 sheets of cardstock
The above pdf files are based on materials from TACF Southern Appalachian Regional Science Coordinator Paul Sisco’s web site and the TACF Field Guide.
Hypovirulence
Hypovirulence Treatment of Blight Cankers
Hypovirulence treatment outline prepared by Dr. Donald L. Nuss. (C. parasitica strains for tailored biocontrol of chestnut blight on individual trees)
Protocol for treatment of Sugarloaf East Field Trees August 4, 2007
Map of Sugarloaf East Field Trees treated August 4, 2007
TACF Biocontrol information
Grafting
Grafting Resources
Nut-grafting!
January and February are the best times to cut scions from American chestnut trees and graft them onto American chestnut nuts. If they grow, you will have a clone of your scion wood tree that can be planted in a new location. Carl Mayfield, shown above, is an expert on this method of propagation. He graciously allowed us to take video at his nut-grafting clinic last winter, and he wrote out detailed instructions for every step of preparation and nurture, which can be found here:
Student Program
American Chestnut Learning Materials
Links to materials available for download at no charge.
American Chestnut Educational Resources
A list of information provided by The American Chestnut Foundation.
The Legend of the American Chestnut Tree
A book written by students of the Poolesville High School, Kirby Carmack & Nicole Rodriguez, with Illustrations by Michael Torres.
The American Chestnut video by Thomas Nassif
An 18 minute video that tell the story of the chestnut and TACF, documents controlled pollination and shows the basics of hypo virulence.
American Chestnut Loaner Lab (University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and Towson University)
Download the teacher’s manual for the Chestnut Tree Lab. Loaner Lab kits made available to MD schools at no cost. A model for a national package to meet technology SOLs along with teaching chestnut science
Penn State Chestnut Growers Website
Everything a chestnut grower needs to know and much more, including back issues of the TACF Journal and other publications in pdf format.
Hypovirulence information (MDTACF)
This information covers the procedures volunteers can use to treat blight on surviving American chestnut trees.
Maryland Chapter Menu
National Facebook
Pictured here: An 1891 circular for American chestnuts reveals the value of chestnuts to our community of growers and the agricultural pipeline that fed our families and communities. This circular shows $271,527 in sales from TWO months of harvesting. Today's value would be almost $9 million! The seller of these chestnuts probably paid less than $2/bushel wholesale but market rate was about $10 to $12 per bushel. According to research, the legal weight limit of a bushel of chestnuts was about 50 pounds (in TN) and 57 pounds (in VA). This two months of harvesting amounted to approximately 1.3 million pounds of chestnuts.
These numbers from 1981 are hard to believe. This was just prior to the introduction of chestnut blight in the USA when there was likely an abundance of trees and nuts. There is no header to indicate buyer / seller/ location. Dated Fall of 1890 is not a good business practice. The perfect print looks like it was done on a modern day grocery bag. Was this created by AI?
Where was the harvest? European or Japanese hybrids?
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.This is a big plus if it relieves the growth rate of the tree from the cost of constitutive expression of the trans gene. Its inducibility needs to be appropriate, protective and stable in inheritance too. On the other hand, if the fungus is everywhere all the time, then maybe constant OxO expression will be more protective. The tree not only needs blight tolerance, it needs the unfettered speed of growth and height advantage that made it dominate forests in the first place. Nature will sort this out, given a good launch.
Would love to get my hands on some of these!
Very exciting developments in A. Chestnut resurrection!
When I was a kid in the '60's we went camping in the Smoky Mountains frequently. I remember being told by Rangers a Lot that Chestnuts were almost extinct. Are they back?
We have 20 acres of woods, former pasture, in Hebron, CT. Three streams, too!Feel free to plant some chestnuts here!❤️💕
That's a kick in the face towards someone who came up with the theory of natural selection. Wtf.
I want some soooooo bad!!
Cool--access to the entire article for those who want it!
My brother planted a bunch of these on his farm about 15 years or so back. They are doing good
Today is the deadline for the public comment period regarding the deregulation of the transgenic American chestnut tree, Darling 58! The USDA-APHIS will collect comments until 11:59PM (EST) today, January 26, 2023.
To learn a little more about these restoration efforst, check out this article that was published in December, by the Genetic Literacy Project. Please note the article mentions the prior deadline before the 30 day extension was granted. The deadline is today, January 26, 2023. Article link: buff.ly/3j7OIwh
To submit your comment, head over to our website at acf.org/resources-deregulation-darling58/ .
Biotech chestnut tree poised to restore lost ecosystems and biodiversity — But it needs your help
geneticliteracyproject.org
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire kindle iconic imagery of the season. However, the American chestnut (Castenea dentata) that once produced them is all but absent from the Appalachian forests that it...The slogan on the homepage of this article reads "Science, not Ideology"...that is how the 1960's slogan 'better living through science' enabled production and sale of the hundreds of agricultural chemicals/products that have been disappeared in our own lifetimes because of toxicity issues/safety regulations. Once biotech GMO's infiltrate our food systems there is no going back, and these companies are spending billions to disallow labeling and underwrite seemingly harmless projects like these that purport to be doing noble work. Science is important groundwork and should not be debased for commercial market profiteering from a system that of genetic engineering that pollutes all of the seeds of our collective cultural inheritance. Many of us that have long supported The American Chestnut Foundation will no longer work or support you (after years of being a huge advocate). Please back away from the seductive financial forces and get back to the work of true biodiversity preservation...and please say not to legislation that unleashes gmo's into our food supply and environment.
youtu.be/2VYviSHyB98
Meet Ciera! Our nursery manager at Meadowview Research Farms.
This interview is episode 1 of our new YouTube series "Behind the Bark."
Behind the Bark is a casual interview series by The American Chestnut Foundation to dive deeper into the lives of the wonderful people who are behind the mission of returning the iconic American chestnut to its native range.
The American Chestnut Foundation's Meadowview Research Farms
One of the biggest questions we receive is "how do I submit a public comment, what am I supposed to say?" The answer is pretty simple: why does the American chestnut tree matter to you? When submitting a comment, you just need to be unique and authentic. Tell your personal story of why the American chestnut is important to you: maybe your family grew up with chestnut trees and can remember when they filled the forests, or maybe you're passionate about forest health and restoration, or maybe you grow chestnut trees on your land and want more.
The USDA looks for unique and custom comments. You don't have to be a scientist to support the restoration of the American chestnut! You can be anyone, all you need is a few sentences of why you support this effort. Check out these helpful tips and sample comments that we've compiled if you're still unsure of what to say. Be sure to submit your comment by midnight on Thursday, January 26.
Visit acf.org/resources-deregulation-darling58/ to learn more and to submit your comment.
