Purdue HTIRC Select Pure American Chestnut Seedling (Castanea dentata)

The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) has been decimated in North America by the introduction of the Asian fungal pathogen (Cryphonectria parasitica) which causes chestnut blight.  Numerous groups and individuals have been breeding blight resistance into the species through hybridizing it with Asian species and most recently, the State University of New York Environmental Science and Forestry program are developing transgenic solutions. Our understanding of blight resistance and hybridization, coupled with this new transgenic approach, requires new plantings of American chestnut to support future breeding and to conserve the remaining genetic diversity before it’s too late. Over the last two decades, our experience growing pure American and American hybrids with Chinese chestnut (C. mollissima), shows that blight-susceptible trees can be successfully grown and when they become blighted, they can recover through basal sprouts, and flower and produce large quantities of seed for decad