Chestnuts: Small Scale Chestnut Growing in
NYS (8/11/14) by John Wertis
This article is written for those who
want to grow a few chestnut trees on their property for
their beauty and their delicious nuts. The
information presented here has been gleaned from
presentations at two New York Nut Growers Association
meetings in 2014 and from a review of current literature
on the subject from books and on-line sources.
At the NYNGA Spring Meeting,
Dennis Fullbright, Professor of Plant Pathology at
Michigan State University, explained the scientific
basis for the establishment and success of commercial
hybrid chestnut orchards in Europe and southern Michigan.
Extensive literature on Michigan Chestnut growing is
available at <fulbrig1@msu.edu> and <
http:chestnuts.msu.edu>. Dr. Fullbright presented the
belief held by many that over time a virus began to
“parasitise” the chestnut blight fungus in specific
geographic regions of Europe and the U.S.A. The blight
fungus so parasitised is said to be “hypovirulent”;
it is less damaging to chestnuts than the uninfected
original strain. Chestnuts have a better chance to grow
and produce where the hypovirulent strains of blight
occur, such as in Southern Michigan. Research is
on-going to see if hypovirulence can be introduced into
other growing regions.
If you are in Zone 5 or higher, you
should be able to grow a small planting of blight
tolerant European/Japanese hybrid chestnuts with
little risk from freeze damage. These trees should
do well for you with low incidence of pests or problems
for a number of years after planting. Chinese chestnuts
may be more blight tolerant in New York State, but they
tend to produce smaller than desirable nuts and are not
totally immune to the blight themselves. Until
the American Chestnut Association releases trees
that are blight resistant or immune at a reasonable
price, there is little reason to plant American chestnuts,
except for the novelty of the idea. There is enough
genetics in existing wild American chestnut tree
populations to host the blight fungus in their on-going
evolutionary battle that may result in “hypovirulent
strains” of blight becoming dominant in our
part of the world some day.
Based on the Michigan experience, for
productive chestnut growing plant grafted cultivars of
European/Japanese hybrid chestnuts that have
established a good history for themselves. In Michigan,
the industry is based on orchards that are dominantly
“Colossal “trees. As chestnuts are self-sterile, a
pollinator cultivar must also be grown. Nevada's have been
so employed in Colossal orchards but may be too sensitive
to our NYS winters. Other European x American hybrid
cultivars that have been successful in Michigan include
Bouche de Betizak, Precoce Migoule, Marki, Laborday, and
Michigan Early.
In his 2011 “A Practical Guide” book on
nut tree growing, Southern Ontario nurseryman Ernie Grimo
states “the best adapted to resisting the disease
(Chestnut blight) are the Chinese chestnuts and Chinese x
American chestnut hybrids.” He goes on to indicate that
they are “less hardy than the American and need to be
grown in protected......environments for best success.” He
lists the four most desirable characteristics for a
chestnut cultivar as (1) nut size,(2)
production, (3) ripening time, and (4) blight
resistance. He cites the following cultivars: Douglas
(Chinese x American), Layeroka (Chinese x ?), Colossal ,
Qing (Chinese), Lockwood (American x Chinese) and Grimo
150Y (Chinese).
Sandra Anagnostakis, of the
Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, a respected,
long -time researcher with chestnuts, lists (in order of
largest to smaller nut size produced) Colossal, Bouche de
Betizac, Willamette (Chinese x American), Revival ( ? )
, Skookum ( ? ), Sleeping Giant ( Chinese x American
x Jap), Nanking, Eaton, AU Homestead, and
Kuling. “Taste tests” that have been done on chestnuts
suggest that the “sweetest” chestnuts are from American
trees, with Chinese second, and European x Japanese
hybrids third.
Horticulturist Brian Caldwell has
been growing chestnuts for 37 years in West Danby, NY, in
a region slightly below Growing Zone 5. He has a “mixed
orchard” of Japanese x European hybrids, Chinese,
and Chinese x American hybrids. He told the audience
at the NYNGA August 2, 2014 meeting that he has had most
success with Willamette (Chinese x American),
Armstrong (?Chinese x American, Eaton (Chinese x Jap x
Amer ?), Mossbarger (Chinese), and
Jersey Gem (?). and less success with Lesesne
(Chinese x Jap x American), 142Q (?), Luvall'sMonster
(Chinese x American), and Dunstan. (American x
Chinese). Most of his trees have experienced
some degree of blight infection, but it took20 years for
the Chestnut weevil to find his orchard.
An emerging caution to be aware of:
Colossal hybrid trees should not be planted in the
vicinity of Chinese chestnuts that set pollen free. This
“cross-pollination” appears to result in ”browning” of the
nut meat and “kernel breakdown” in about 30% of the
Colossal nuts thus exposed.
Burnt Ridge Nursery in Washington
handles many of the Michigan recommended cultivars. Grimo
Nut Nursery, Empire Chestnut Company, Nolin River Nut Tree
Nursery, and Nursery Street Greenhouses, also handle a lot
of the cultivars cited in this article. They and many
others, including European sources, are listed in a
Connecticut Research Station article available on-line at
<http://www.nutgrowing.org/faqchest.htm>.
A small group of grafted Colossal and
Nevada trees have been planted this year
(along with some other chestnut species and cultivars) at
the John Gordon Demonstration Nut Grove near Trumansburg,
NY. Go to NYNGA on the internet
<www.nynga.org> for this and other nut tree
plantings across NYS at the “Nut Tree Trail” section of
that website. Visitors are welcome......to both the
web-site and the plantings listed on the “Trail”! |
