Chestnut Blight

Question 1

What are some tell tale signs of chestnut blight?

Answer 1

Orange discolouration on bark often associated with cracking (canker)
Small orange spots (fruiting body)

Question 2

What was the importance of the chestnut tree?

Answer 2

“cradle to grave tree” with untold uses from food, to shelter for the people of eastern USA.

• used to compose ~50% of forests in eastern US ansd 25% of trees in Appalatia.
• Provided allot of food for wildlife and livestock
• large and fast growing, reproduction from seed or root sprout

Question 3

What are the damage characteristics of chestnut blight?

Answer 3

• diffuse canker that kills in 1-2 years by girdling

- roots and root collar immune

Question 4

What does hypovirulence refer to?

what are its management implications

Answer 4

• weakened version of disease.
• scientists have discovered a virus that infects the blight fungus and reduces its virulence.
• crossing normal blight with hypovirulent blight yields hypo. strain. (Best in orchards)

Question 5

What is the greatest hope for combating chestnut blight at the landscape level?

Answer 5

Tree breeding with chinese chestnut for resistance. Chinese chestnut not as big as american.

Question 6

What level of management does fungicide work for?

Answer 6

• small scale parks or boulevards

- fungicide applied annually.

Question 7

Where did chestnut blight come from?
Where did it start?
What have the consequences been?

Answer 7

• Native to China
• Introduced to E N.A. in 1900’s
• by 1950, all chestnut in Eastern N.A. were decimated.