PA-TACF
Pennsylvania Chapter
The American Chestnut Foundation
 
OUR ORCHARDS

PA-TACF’s volunteers and “citizen scientists” maintain more than 150 chestnut research and demonstration orchards to support the regional tree breeding program. For the locations of PA-TACF's orchards, download the PATACF Orchard Map (pdf).

American chestnut orchards are established around the region for several reasons:

  1. To maintain the American chestnut germplasm pool.
  2. To locate American chestnut trees where we can control growth, production, pollination and blight for a few years.
  3. To provide newer growers with an opportunity to establish an orchard without risking the loss of valuable hybrids.
  4. To study and observe of the growth of American trees including silviculture studies, maintenance management, chestnut identification studies, as well as predator control knowledge.
 
Volunteer

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Become a member, and help bring the "King of the Forests" back to PA

 


Your extra donation to the PA chapter can help buy supplies, plant more trees...
Breeding and Research orchards usually contain a single generation plus some American and Chinese chestnuts which act as check trees during growing and testing. An explanation of each generation is discussed on the Breeding Page. CMS chestnut orchards utilize genetic emasculation, Cytoplasmic Male Sterility (CMS), that occurs in interspecific hybridization of chestnuts. By crossing American female flowers (burs) with Chinese male flowers (catkins), we produce seed for a male sterile tree.

“Demonstration and education” orchards offer a great way to collaborate in the mission of The American Chestnut Foundation. These orchards:
  1. typically take very little land
  2. offer a great opportunity for learning the differences in chestnut species
  3. offer a great visual representation of

    • how breeding works
    • the differences in resistance among the species and hybrids
    • the morphological differences encountered between each planted type
Orchard maintenance
Orchard Maintenance
Orchard maintenance
Planting usually involves 5-10 trees each of American, Chinese, Japanese, European, and hybrid chestnuts, as available.

Interested in establishing a chestnut orchard? Find out how to do it by downloading our Sample Demonstration Orchard Layout (doc).

 
PA-TACF, 206 Forest Resources Lab, University Park, PA 16802
814-863-7192 phone | mail@patacf.org