PowerPoint Presentation - The American Chestnut FoundationŐs Breeding Program

Cultivation Method

ĄWe use standard horticultural techniques adapted to screening chestnut trees for blight resistance. These are high-input horticultural methods, not silvicultural methods.
ĄOur orchard spacings are designed to grow trees as fast as possible until they can survive being screened for blight resistance long enough to produce a crop.
ĄTrees with intermediate levels of blight resistance need to be 3-4 years old, about 2 to 3 inches in diameter at breast height, to survive inoculation.
ĄTrees with high levels of blight resistance can survive inoculation when they are younger.
ĄThis requires a lot of land and effort compared to breeding field crops, and more time, of course.