Chestnut Chat Series
Want to engage in real-time conversation and presentations that cover all things related to American chestnut restoration? TACF’s live Chestnut Chat Series takes place every third Friday of the month to keep you updated on our work, share experiences, and offer participants the opportunity to ask questions. All sessions are recorded and available below for those who aren’t able to join the live sessions.
Join us Friday, December 17 at 11:30 AM (EST) for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat: Phytophthora cinnamomi and American chestnut. Steve Jeffers, Professor of Plant Pathology & Extension Specialist, Ornamental Crops & Trees at Clemson University, and Katie McKeever, U.S. Forest Service Bent Creek Resistance Screening Center Director, will discuss their research and findings involving Phytophthora cinnamomi, also known as black ink disease, in American chestnut.
LEARN HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Chestnut Chat 30: Restoration of Pine Savannah Ecosystems
Topic: Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy of Good – Lessons from Longleaf Pine Savanna Restoration. Presenters Zach Prusak (Tall Timbers Research Station), Chris Matson (Florida Park Service), and Walt Thomson and Chaz Oliver (The Nature Conservancy) will look at the Longleaf Pine Savanna restoration process as an analogy for American chestnut restoration. While this is not an apples-to-apples comparison, the Chat will focus on how we can perceive this gigantic undertaking: Are there out-of-the-box perspectives that can be incorporated into the journey towards American chestnut restoration? What roadblocks and bottlenecks were encountered amidst Longleaf Pine Savanna restoration and how were those overcome?
Video TBD
Additional Resources:
Thinking Like a Restoration Project: Lessons Learned Across Time and Landscape – Chris Matson
Large Scale Ecosystem Restoration – Walt Thomson – Retired Guy
Lake Louise, FL State Park Tree Planting Footprint
Lake Louise, FL State Park 10 year plan including monitoring
Chestnut Chat 29: Genomic Selection
Topic: Genomic Sequencing 101 and the Genome of American Chestnut. People often ask, “Have you considered gene editing to enhance disease resistance in American chestnut?” For gene editing to become a possibility we need to know what to edit. TACF Director of Science Jared Westbrook discussed the foundational research being pursued to enable gene editing. Additionally, Nathan Cude, senior scientist at Novozymes North America and project leader in microbial discovery, covered the basics of DNA from its structure to its role in the cell to its sequencing and explains why genome sequences are so important to the modern biologist.
Additional Resources:
Chestnut Chat 28: Wood Identification & Differential Wood Properties
Topic: Charles David Ray, associate professor of ecosystem science and management at Penn State University, discusses identification and properties of chestnut wood.
Additional Resources:
Wood Quality in Hybrid Chestnuts presented by Charles D. Ray, Ph.D.
An Interesting Question About Wisteria
Chestnut Chat 27: Participatory Chestnut Breeding
Topic: Ron Revord, assistant research professor, University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, and Greg Miller, owner of Empire Chestnut Company, founder of Route 9 Cooperative, and prior board member of TACF, tackle what is involved in establishing a network to characterize genetic diversity and ancestry of on-farm germplasm.
Additional Resources:
Center for Agroforestry: Scaling Chestnut Breeding – Dr. Ron Revord
Chestnut Chat 26: Chestnut Chat, Emerging and Evolving Threats to Chestnut Health
Topic: Who has time to worry about blight? There are other issues impacting chestnut, including Gnomoniopsis and gall wasp. Emily Dobry, M.S. candidate in horticulture at Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, and Carol Mapes, a Biology Professor and former Chair of the Kutztown University Biology Department, will discuss these and other challenges we strive to tackle when working with chestnut.
Additional Resources:
Chestnut Chat 25: Controlled Pollinations
Topic: Thomas Klak, ME-TACF Chapter Gene Conservation Committee Chair and Professor at University of New England, and Dakota Matthews, molecular lab manager with the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project, present Controlled Pollinations: High Light and “Speed Breeding.”
Additional Resources:
- “Chestnuts and Light” article in TACF’s Journal from May-June 2021
- International Biochar Initiative: https://biochar-international.org
- Biochar shared documents: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gjqi-scxabM0LZ9z9uVkkJgMyEzxDe5_
Chestnut Chat 24: Site Selection and Planting American Chestnuts
Topic: TACF Director of Restoration Sara Fern Fitzsimmons will cover the basics of proper site selection, how to find the right spot for putting in a chestnut, as well as how to get them planted.
Additional Resources:
- Site Selection and Planting – Presented by Sara Fitzsimmons, Director of Restoration, TACF
- Fertilizing Woody Ornamentals, Kuhns 1987
- Chestnut Growers Website: https://ecosystems.psu.edu/research/chestnut
- Penn State Soil Analysis: https://agsci.psu.edu/aasl/soil-testing
- NRCS Web Soil Survey: http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/HomePage.htm
- Official Soil Series Descriptions (OSD): https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/osdname.aspx
Chestnut Chat 23: Cruddy Bark and the Complex World of Blight Cankers
Topic: Mark Double, WV-TACF chapter president and Laurel Rogers, honors program director and associate professor of biology at Shenandoah University discuss Cruddy Bark and the Complex World of Blight Cankers. Double discusses the blight fungus, how it spreads, canker formation, and spore production. Rogers focuses on identifying what beneficial fungi live under the healthy bark of different chestnut species prior to C. parasitica infection.
Additional Resources:
Microbiomes – how important are they? presented bu Dr. Laurel Rogers
Chestnut Chat 22: Exploring Big Questions for American Chestnut Restoration
Topic: Explore big questions, such as what makes a native plant native? Why is American chestnut restoration important? Who and what will benefit from the tree’s restoration? We will tackle all questions associated with American chestnut restoration, and other restoration projects. Staff, members, and volunteers often face these questions and, rather than a single answer, there is often a spectrum of possibilities.
Additional Resources:
Chestnut Chat 21: Historic Importations and Chestnut Cultivars
Topic: Retired plant pathologist Sandra Anagnostakis covers the history of chestnut importation and cultivar development. Chestnut grower Michael Nave discusses the breeding and selection process of “big name” cultivars, which many people encounter when looking for commercially available chestnut varieties.
Additional Resources:
- Papers written for the public are posted on Sandy’s website, along with lists of CT plantings, a key for species identification, and pictures of the species for help in identification.
- Old and New Hybrids in CT – Sandy Anagnostakis
- 2020 Chestnut Cultivars Registry
- 2013 Chestnut Cultivars Registry
- Join Michael’s Facebook Group: Chestnuts as a tree crop – Castanea species nut trees
- Castanea Mollissima cultivar nuts photos – J. Michael Nave
- Castanea Sativa (and hybrids) nuts presentation – J. Michael Nave
- Chestnut Cultivars Discussion – J. Michael Nave
Chestnut Chat 20: Biocontrol: Chestnut Blight and Hypovirulence
Topic: Learn about the underlying biology of the blight fungus and what’s being done to make it sick using a virus. Amy Metheny of West Virginia University will give us a crash course on the causal organism of chestnut blight, Cryphonectria parasitica, as well as the phenomenon known as hypovirulence, wherein the fungus is infected by a virus.
Chestnut Chat 19: Chestnut Science Town Hall
Topic: Our final Chestnut Chat of 2020 involves a town hall style panel of lead scientists from TACF and SUNY-ESF. Panelists includes TACF’s Jared Westbrook, Sara Fitzsimmons, Tom Saielli, Kendra Collins; and Andy Newhouse from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Additional Resources discussed during chat:
- Harvesting, Handling and Storing Chestnuts fact sheet on TACF website: https://www.acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/FactSheet_HARVEST_February2020_rev.pdf
- Harvesting and Storing Chestnuts, Chestnut, Fall 2018; pgs 29-30
https://www.acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/WEB-Chestnut_Fall2018.pdf - How Not To Kill a Chestnut, The Journal of The American Chestnut Foundation, March/April 2013; pgs 22-23
https://www.acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Volume-XXVII-No.-2-Mar-April-2013.pdf - Seed Stratification – Chestnut, Spring 2019; pgs 25-28
https://www.acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FINAL_Chestnut_Spring2019.pdf - Troubles with Weevils? The Journal of The American Chestnut Foundation, September 2010; pg 17
https://www.acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Volume-XXIV-No.-3-September-2010.pdf - How to deal with Ambrosia Beetles:
https://acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/How-to-deal-with-ambrosia-beetles-mock-up.pdf - Mud Packing:
https://acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Mud-Packing_Fall-2019-Chestnut.pdf - Links to papers addressing Propagating chestnut cuttings:
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/8/826/pdf
https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/11/1543/htm
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfr-2019-0002 - Planting Manual:
https://acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/planting_manual-1.pdf - Northern Nut Growers Association:
https://nutgrowing.org/
Chestnut Chat 18: November 13, 2020 - Cloning and embryogenesis
Topic: Scott Merkle, Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, talks about the current status of research to develop scalable clonal propagation systems for American chestnut and hybrid chestnuts, including macro- and micropropagation systems.
Chestnut Chat 17: Friday, October 30, 2020 - Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) 101
Topic: Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) has become the go-to method for detecting genetic variation (heritability) that affects the variation we observe in traits within a species. David Kainer, staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, explains how GWAS works and how to make sense of the results.
Chestnut Chat 16: Friday, October 16, 2020 - Cooking with chestnuts
Topic: Cool autumn weather invites warm seasonal dishes. In this session about cooking with chestnuts, you’ll hear about everything from best roasting methods to making delicious savory and sweet recipes.
RECIPES:
- Chestnut Recipes shared by GA-TACF Chapter President Kathy Patrick
- Chestnut Log Cake from TACF’s 2019 fall issue of Chestnut magazine
- Chestnut de Marrons (Chestnut Purée) from TACF’s 2020 fall issue of Chestnut magazine
PSA for HemlockFest 2020 (some proceeds benefit the GA-TACF Chapter)
Chestnut Chat 15: Friday, October 2, 2020 - Chestnut Pests and Pathogens
Topic: Erin Lizotte, pest educator at Michigan State University, covers pests and pathogens that impact chestnut, and discusses issues that plague the trees and how to best manage them.
Chestnut Chat 14: Friday, September 18, 2020 - Chestnut Harvest and Storage
Topic: Chestnut Harvest and Storage presented by Kendra Collins, TACF’s New England Regional Science Coordinator and Eric Jenkins, Meadowview Tree Breeding Coordinator.
- Harvesting, Handling and Storing Chestnuts fact sheet on TACF website
https://acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/FactSheet_HARVEST_February2020_rev.pdf - Harvesting and Storing Chestnuts, Chestnut, Fall 2018; pgs 29-30
https://acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/WEB-Chestnut_Fall2018.pdf - How Not To Kill a Chestnut, The Journal of The American Chestnut Foundation, March/April 2013; pgs. 22-23
https://acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Volume-XXVII-No.-2-Mar-April-2013.pdf - Seed Stratification…, Chestnut, Spring 2019; pgs. 25-28
https://acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FINAL_Chestnut_Spring2019.pdf - Troubles with Weevils? The Journal of The American Chestnut Foundation, September 2010; pg 17
https://acf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Volume-XXIV-No.-3-September-2010.pdf
Chestnut Chat: Friday 13, September 4, 2020 - Public Comment Period
Topic: TACF and SUNY-ESF hosts a workshop on The Public Comment Period.
[Click Here Now] to view comments left during the open comment period
Comment Period Closed on Monday, October 19, 2020
Chestnut Chat 12: Friday, August 21, 2020 - Metabolomics 101
Topic: Dr. Jeanne Romero-Severson presents a virtual workshop on Metabolomics 101.
Chestnut Chat 11: Friday, August 7, 2020 - American chestnut restoration and reintroduction plantings
Topic: USFS Research Forester Stacy Clark shares results from 10+ years of ground-breaking research involving large-scale forest reintroduction of American chestnut.
Stacy Clark – Women in Science
Chestnut Restoration and Reintroduction Plantings in Southern Appalachians
Chestnut Chat 10: Friday, July 24, 2020 - Plant pathology for non-plant pathologists
Topic: Plant Pathology for Non-Plant Pathologists presented by Bruce Levine, board director for the MD-TACF Chapter
Pathology for Non-pathologists presentation
Small Stem Assay Method: Enhanced Blight Resistance in Transgenic American Chestnut
Chestnut Chat 9: Friday, July 10, 2020 - Pollination workshop at ESF - video with Q&A
Topic: A virtual Pollination Workshop presented by researchers at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project.
SUNY-ESF’s Pollination Materials
Chestnut Chat 8: Friday, June 26, 2020 - Drones
Topic: Using Drones to Benefit American Chestnut Restoration, featuring Alex Young of Dropcopter (a company that uses drones to pollinate crops), and TACF Chapter members Brian Clark and Clark Beebe who share their experiences using drones to locate and pollinate chestnut trees.
Chestnut Chat 7: Friday, June 12, 2020 - The hunt for wild American chestnut trees
Topic: TACF’s Mid-Atlantic and Southern Regional Science Coordinator Tom Saielli offers a workshop on finding and conserving American chestnuts in the wild.
Finding American chestnuts handout
HIS Models
- Maine: https://mfst.acg.maine.edu/App/Dashboard?layout=1
- Click layer button in upper right-hand corner. Scroll down and check “American Chestnut Habitat Suitability”.
- For legend and data information, click “Data descriptions and legends” in upper left hand corner.
- PA, NJ, VA, WV, and OH: https://arcg.is/18Oemv
- Click blue button that says “Open in Map Viewer”
- Need to wait a good long while for it to load. It’s a really big file.
- If you get an orange button at the bottom (exclamation point in a triangle, refresh the page and see if it will load again).
- More to come in the future including the entire native range and Kentucky.
Chestnut Chat 6: Friday, May 29, 2020 - Grafting Workshop
Topic: The Art of Grafting features Dr. Hill Craddock, TN-TACF Chapter President and Steve Hoy, Penn State Orchard Manager. Both will offer tips and discuss the successes and challenges of grafting.
Chestnut Chat 5: Friday, May 15, 2020 - Meet chestnut enthusiast Chuck Leavell - yes that Chuck Leavell
Topic: A conversation with Chuck Leavell, rock-n-roll keyboardist and chestnut enthusiast.
Chestnut Chat 4: Friday, May 8, 2020 - Meadowview Research Farms
Topic: Enjoy a visual presentation by staff at TACF’s Meadowview Research Farms in Virginia.
Chestnut Chat 3: Friday, May 1, 2020 - Transgenic American chestnut tree
Topic: Meet TACF’s scientific research partners at SUNY’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry and learn about the transgenic tree.
Andy Newhouse: Introduction and Transgenic American Chestnut Regulatory Process
Linda Polin McGuigan: The Transformation of the American Chestnut
NY Times April 30, 2020: Can Genetic Engineering Bring Back the American Chestnut?
Chestnut Chat 2: Friday, April 24, 2020 - Happy Earthday! Meet our Volunteers
Topic: National Volunteer Week and Earth Day: TACF Volunteers Share Their Stories
Chestnut Chat 1: Friday, April 17, 2020 - State of TACF in the age of COVID
Topic: Meet TACF’s President & CEO and the Science Leadership Team
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