| Planted on
what was originally a 65-year old red pine plantation (Figure 1),
The Xi Sigma Pi Chestnut Demonstration Orchard at Stone Valley is
a cooperative planting between Xi
Sigma Pi (XSP), the Pennsylvania Chapter of The American Chestnut
Foundation (PA-TACF) and Penn
State's Stone Valley Forest. In addition, fencing of the 3 acre site
was made possible through a sizable grant through the Hardwood
Forestry Fund (HFF) so that the newly planted trees could escape
predation from the ubiquitous white tail. |
(Figure 1) Xi Sigma Pi Plantation Prior to Harvest
|
| In late March
of 2003, with the help of members of Xi Sigma Pi, chestnut, white
pine, tulip poplar, and red oak seed were planted in D40 Deeppot cells
and held in the greenhouse until late June. Those seedlings, with
the exception of the white pine, were then planted by volunteer members
of Xi Sigma Pi and The Pennsylvania Chapter of The American Chestnut
Foundation. Planted seedlings were watered and fertilized on the day
of transplantation. Additional seedlings were planted in late May
of 2004. An accounting of the holdings at the XSP Chestnut Demonstration
Orchard as of the end of 2004 may be found below in Table 1. |
The various chestnut species and hybrids have been planted in order
to both observe their differences in adaptability to central Pennsylvania
and serve as a diverse germplasm reserve that can be used for educational,
demonstration, and eventual breeding purposes as part of The American
Chestnut Foundation's (TACF) efforts to restore the American chestnut
species. The other species have been planted in order to observe their
growth rates relative to the different chestnut specimens. In experiments
performed at Purdue,
American chestnut has been found to outgrow all native hardwood species
that had been studies, including walnut and northern red oak by leaps
and bounds. In addition, silvicultural tests established by researchers
at Penn State University have observed that the virtually the only
species that can rival American chestnut's growth potential is the
tulip poplar.
|
Through the middle of the orchard site, there is a distinct path of
cattails and sedges. A culvert which runs under the road leading to
the site and from its action, a stream and wetland have formed. As
one might expect, the hardwoods planted in or near the wetland did
not perform well. Chestnut trees, in particular, are not tolerant
of highly saturated soils. A majority of mortality in the American
chestnut and BC4 hybrid chestnuts may be attributed to having been
planted in those wet areas.
Stump sprouting within
the plot has been significant. The western, northern and southern
borders of the plot have displayed prolific hardwood stump sprouting,
primarily of chestnut and northern red oak, shagbark and pignut
hickory, slippery elm and red maple. Sprouts between rows or within
4 feet of planted rows are controlled with a combination of a machete,
weed-eater, strapping young volunteers and an herbicide cocktail.
|
In the summer of 2004, controlled crosses on the Alex R. American
chestnut tree in Moshannon State Forest (~45 miles northwest of State
College) were performed using pollen from an American chestnut survivor
in Kentucky, the Adair County tree, as well as pollen from an American
chestnut in North Carolina, Moses Cone. The resulting seed from those
crosses will be planted as part of the germplasm reserve for Dr. John
Carlson's work, along with the Mahogany F1's and Clapper BC2's of
which Alex R. was also a parent.
|
Cold tolerance of the European chestnuts planted in this orchard leaves
much to be desired; 24 of the 25 seedlings planted in 2003 experience
75-100% dieback over the winter. The seed source was a supermarket
in southeastern PA. In the hopes of procuring a more cold-tolerant
European chestnut tree, seed from European trees growing in northwestern
PA will be collected this fall and planted next spring.
|
Future plantings at the Xi Sigma Pi Demonstration orchard will include
continued planting of crosses between large Americans like the Alex
R. and Adair County tree, further chestnut hybrid crosses from several
backcross generations in order to demonstrate the advancement of American
character through progressive backcrosses, as well as continued plantings
of other chestnut species; hopefully a more winter hardy European
chestnut variety will be found. In addition, although it tends to
be a more southern species, it is hoped to establish a small plot
of chinquapins within the demonstration orchard.
|
As the individuals within the orchard mature, germplasm will be collected
and used for various experiments, in particular, as noted above, for
Dr. Carlson's research on blight-resistance and American character
in hybrid and pure chestnut tree. Also, as the trees in the plot reach
maturity, they will serve as a useful reserve of diverse chestnut
specimens that can be used for various controlled crosses to advance
and expand the TACF breeding program for creating a blight-resistant
American chestnut.
|
| Continued
collaboration with Xi Sigma Pi and PSU's Stone Valley Forest will
help to establish a long-term practical and educational project for
the community. Because full-scale restoration of the American chestnut
will likely take hundreds of years, the more we can teach new generations
of foresters, landowners, and interested parties about the plight
of the American chestnut and the efforts employed to return the species
to its native range, the better prepared we will be for realizing
the goal of American chestnut restoration. |
|
(Table 1) Survival Data on Seedlings Planted
at XSP Chestnut Demonstration Orchard
|
|
Seed
Type
|
Year
Planted
|
Resistance
Source
|
Number
Planted
|
Number
Dead
|
Percent
Survival
|
| White
Pine (Pinus strobes) |
2004
|
NA
|
20
|
0
|
100.00%
|
| American
Chesnut (Castanea dentata) |
2003
|
NA
|
144
|
42
|
65.29%
|
| BC2
Hybrid Chestnut |
2003
|
Clapper
|
38
|
10
|
73.68%
|
| BC4
Hybrid Chestnut |
2003
|
Clapper
|
9
|
4
|
55.56%
|
| Chinese
Chestnut (Castanea mollisima) |
2003
|
NA
|
50
|
5
|
90.00%
|
| European
Chestnut (Castanea sativa) |
2003
|
NA
|
25
|
12
|
52.00%
|
| F1
Hybrid Chestnut |
2004
|
Mahogany
|
36
|
0
|
100.00%
|
| Japanese
Chestnut (Castanea crenata) |
2003
|
NA
|
64
|
8
|
87.50%
|
| Northern
Red Oak (Quercus rubra) |
2003
|
NA
|
79
|
13
|
83.54%
|
| Tulip
Poplar (Liridendron tulipifera) |
2003
|
NA
|
4
|
0
|
100.00%
|
| |
|
Totals
|
445
|
94
|
78.88%
|
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Links |
- View a pictorial
timeline of the conversion from conifer plantation to chestnut
orchard
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