Chestnuts should be marketed as promptly as possible both to minimize deterioration and to take advantage of good prices which are usually highest early in the season.
Storing
Chestnuts in sound condition when stored may be kept fit for eating or planting for several months by any one of several methods. When available, cold storage with temperatures somewhat above freezing is the simplest and generally the most satisfactory method. Stratifying method. Stratifying in a wire-mesh container buried deeply in moist but well-drained sand is very satisfactory and successful. Another method is to hold the nuts in a tightly closed tin container either in a refrigerator or in cold storage at 32° F. Burying under a porch or in the shade of a house or even in a bin of grain, preferably wheat or rye, is also a good method. Regardless, however, of temperature or other conditions, germination is likely to begin in early March and nuts intended for planting should be hastened into the ground as promptly as possible after that time.
Insect Pests
The two chestnut weevils are the principal insects attacking the nuts. These are exceedingly well-known in certain large areas where the chestnut is grown and in these areas both are often extremely abundant. Unless checked in some way they often render whole crops unfit for use. One of most effective means of control is to plant trees only in well populated poultry yards; however, in large developments, this is impracticable and other methods must be employed. In preliminary work carried on by the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine at Beltsville, DDT has given very encouraging results in the control of the weevil. The weevils have sometimes been called curculios, under which name they were well discussed by Brooks and Cotton.[3] The Japanese Beetle is also a serious pest as chestnut leaves are among its favorite foods. Control methods have been given by Hadley.[4] Another insect pest which feeds on the leaves is the June bug or May beetle. It works mainly at night and feeds on the newest leaves. It is seldom seen and usually disappears about the time when the operator becomes aware of its presence.
[Footnote 3: Fred B. Brooks and Richard T. Cotton, "Chestnut Curculios."
U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bul. 180. 1929.]
[Footnote 4: C. H. Hadley, "The Japanese Beetle and its Control." U. S.
Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bul. 1856. 1940.]
Diseases
Blight is the disease attacking the chestnut tree with which the public is most familiar. The Chinese chestnut is strongly resistant although not immune as few old trees entirely escape attack in areas where blight is prevalent. In most cases healthy vigorous trees of this species overcome the disease within a few years after being attacked. The ones that die are usually those that have been devitalized in some way. The nuts are subject to attack by any of several diseases either before or after the harvest. A preliminary report on these has been made by Gravatt and Fowler.[5]
[Footnote 5: G. F. Gravatt and Marvin Fowler. Nor. Nut Growers Ass'n.
Proc. 31: 110-113. 1940.]