In summing up the whole situation, I would say that my experiments over thirty years quite adequately prove that the walnuts, hickories, hybrid hazels and chestnuts can most certainly be set out in orchard form and in favorable locations. However, pecan, hiccan, English walnuts and almonds have not proved hardy enough to indicate that they can be relied upon for steady crops of nuts although in some instances varieties show a great hardiness such as the Rockville hiccan. Of course the native butternut is perfectly hardy and prolific but until such time as the butternut curculio ceases to be a major pest we cannot expect to have good crops of them.
Growing American Chestnuts and Their Hybrids Under Blight Conditions
ALFRED SZEGO, Jackson Heights, N. Y.
An interesting group of young American chestnut trees growing on my land near Pine Plains, N. Y. has been under observation since 1946. As they are growing closely together which suggests a common parental origin, we have named this group the "Dutchess Clone" for reference purposes. This name was chosen merely because Pine Plains is situated in Dutchess County.
Their reaction to the deadly chestnut blight was studied at great length and at different seasons. Sometimes branches were inoculated with the fungus to test resistance more precisely. It was learned that blight resistance, in this group of trees, was at an apparently low ebb from March until May. After this period the fungus seemed to make almost no progress at all. This might suggest that the resistant substance was manufactured by the leaves. Of course, such conclusions cannot be accepted in a scientific sense without an involved system of checks and measurements.
Pollination problems are exactly the same as with our Chinese Chestnuts that we are more familiar with today. Unlike the latter, in the American, species the bloom is concentrated near the top of the tree.
The burs are so high up as to create difficulties if we intend to anticipate nature and harvest our crop prematurely. The burs open during the month of October with or without frost. High temperatures in 1953 did not interfere with the harvest. The best method of harvesting is to use a long slender pole with a metal hook at the extreme end, and by gently pulling and twisting, remove the burs from the tree.
Unless this is done promptly before the nuts fall, the rodents will get almost every nut.
Tree growth is about 2 to 3 feet per year in height. At present some are nearly 40 feet tall. Bearing starts at about 12 years of age. The nuts, three in a bur are somewhat wedge shaped and average 5/8 of an inch in diameter. One tree has nuts almost an inch in diameter. This is definitely worth propagating and I will gladly furnish scions in the spring free to anyone who is interested. These are probably incompatible with Chinese understocks, but may be grafted on European and some Japanese seedlings.
As we are listed as cooperators with the U.S.D.A., Division of Forest Pathology, Beltsville, Md., we prepare semi-annual reports for Dr. Frederick H. Berry and also send a portion of our American chestnut seed to him. In this way we insure the continuation of the "Dutchess" clone after our lifetimes.