[MassChestnutOrchards] Striking out

[Fred Hebard]

Rufin,

Perhaps the tree is just starting to bear, and this is a low-bearing  
year.

Regarding the Topsfield tree, chestnut will set another crop of burs  
later than the standard flowering season, especially if the weather  
is favorable (rain) and if the first crop was light.  That may have  
been the source of the burs.

Fred

On Jul 11, 2009, at 1:21 PM, <rufin at charter.net> wrote:

> 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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>>
>
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