In the winter of 1945-46, nuts from 6 seedling Chinese chestnut trees were stored separately in five-gallon friction-top cans at the Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Md., at 32°F. for approximately 6 months. The results are given in Table 1. It will be noted that there was some variation in the percentage of spoiled nuts in the different lots, but the loss was small when compared with results obtained by other methods. All of the sound nuts in these lots were planted in a rodent-proof coldframe immediately after they were removed from storage, and from 90 to 95% germination of the seed was obtained throughout.
It is almost impossible to keep some varieties satisfactorily with even the best of care. Because of the great difference in keeping quality of the nuts of different varieties and from different seedling trees, each chestnut grower should study the keeping performance of the nuts from the different trees in his own orchard. He should save for permanent trees those producing nuts that keep well.
The method of storing chestnuts that perhaps has been more widely used than any other is to pack the nuts in slightly moist sphagnum moss or fresh hardwood sawdust in boxes and place them in cold storage at 32°F. to 34°F. A little less volume of packing material than of nuts is customarily used. The correct amount of moisture may be attained by adding 4 fluid ounces of water to 1 pound of dry sphagnum moss. There is great danger of getting too much moisture, which will tend to cause spoilage. If the cold storage compartment is one that has a tendency to dry the stored material, it may be necessary at some time during the year to open up the boxes and add a little moisture to the sphagnum, but in most storage houses this is not necessary.
Based upon results obtained during the last 2 or 3 years, it seems probable that the method of storing chestnuts in friction-top cans will prove to be more efficient than other methods now in use. Tests are under way to determine the most desirable moisture content of nuts at the time of storage. If this can be determined the present period of preliminary curing will become a matter of reducing the moisture content of the nuts to a known amount before they are stored. It is likely that other refinements of the method will be made in the near future, but the procedure here described has given results that merit further trial by those concerned with chestnut storage problems.
TABLE I—Record of Keeping Quality of Nuts from 6 Seedling
Chinese Chestnut Trees Stored In Friction-Top Cans At 32°F.
for Approximately 6 Months At Beltsville, Winter—1945-46[11]
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Total Weight Weight of Weight of
Tree Number of Nuts Sound Nuts Spoiled Nuts Percent Spoiled
4-24-46—Lbs. Lbs. Lbs.
———————————————————————————————————
7861 23.69 23.08 .61 2.57
7881 25.20 24.63 .57 2.26
7930 26.85 26.48 .37 1.37
7932 24.29 23.80 .49 2.02
7938 29.00 27.48 1.52 5.24
8174 15.82 14.80 1.02 6.45
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ALL LOTS 144.85 140.27 4.58 3.16
[Footnote 11: Weighed and examined 4/24/46.]
Essential Elements in Tree Nutrition
(Paper presented before the Northern Nut Growers Association Convention,
September 3-5, 1946, Wooster, Ohio.)
By J. F. Wischhusen Manganese Research & Development Foundation,
Cleveland 10, Ohio