[MassChestnutOrchards] Striking out

[rufin at charter.net]

Fred, yes the tree had female flowers last year and was pollinated but it gave a somewhat poor harvest of 32 nuts.
The tree is located just off the edge of a unpaved former town road. The tree had been shaded and hadn't flowered. The reservior forestry staff removed the shading oaks several years ago.
The tree is not blighted, is about a foot in dbh and about 50 feet tall.
One of the earlier trees that I tried to pollinate in Topsfield MA had many catkins but I couldn't find any females. In the fall it had a few burs. We did pollinate the next year.

Rufin




---- Fred Hebard <Fred at acf.org> wrote: 
> Rufin,
> 
> Did the tree have female flowers last year, as indicated by burs on  
> the ground or other evidence?  Your mention of many male catkins but  
> few females is interesting if it bore females previously.
> 
> Fred
> 
> On Jul 10, 2009, at 6:47 PM, <rufin at charter.net> wrote:
> 
> > Fred, The tree at the Quabbin Reservoir did not have any frost  
> > damage. We have had a record cool spring but not frost. It also was  
> > wet. The tree has had better than two feet of new growth and the  
> > leaves are dark green. Many catkins. Looks like all of the growth  
> > went into vegetative and not flowers.
> >
> > Rufin
> > ---- Fred Hebard <Fred at acf.org> wrote:
> >> Mike,
> >>
> >> Are you sure there is a lack of female flowers or are they just late
> >> due to the cool weather?  There are a few factors that I have seen
> >> reduce flower set.
> >>
> >>    First, although chestnut is a reliable bloomer, it does vary in
> >> bloom set from year to year; for instance, a light year will tend to
> >> follow a heavy year, and vice versa.
> >>
> >>   Second, late spring frosts that kill the terminal bud reduce flower
> >> set because the main flower crop is preformed in the buds the
> >> previous fall.
> >>
> >>   Third, there are leaf-spot-like fungal pathogens that can cause
> >> defoliation and thus lack of bloom formation; in this case, you will
> >> see a sequence of normal leaf and flower development, then a blank
> >> phase where the defoliation occurred, then, perhaps, resumption of
> >> normal leaf development.  Thus the stem will have gaps in it where no
> >> leaves form.  If the gaps coincide with the nodes where female
> >> flowers normally occur, no flowers.
> >>
> >> Hope this helps.
> >>
> >> Fred
> >>
> >> Frederick V. Hebard, PhD
> >> Staff Pathologist, Meadowview Research Farms
> >> American Chestnut Foundation
> >> 14005 Glenbrook Ave.
> >> Meadowview, VA 24361
> >>
> >> Email: Fred at acf.org
> >> Web: http://www.acffarms.org
> >> Phone: (276) 944-4631
> >> Fax: (276) 944-0934
> >>
> >>
> >> On Jul 9, 2009, at 8:41 PM, mike.meixsell at juno.com wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi Rufin and colleagues,
> >>>
> >>> Sounds like we have experienced a lack of female flowers throughout
> >>> a wide area here in MA. It seems likely that the cause must be the
> >>> cold and wet weather. Wonder if anyone has any information on how
> >>> the weather affects the blooming. Would Siscoe or Hebert have any
> >>> opinions ?
> >>>
> >>> Mike M.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
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