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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Booneville, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399949
Research Project: Sustainable Small Farm and Organic Grass and Forage Production Systems for Livestock and Agroforestry

Location: Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center

Title: A roadmap for participatory chestnut breeding for nut production in the eastern United States

Author
item REVORD, RONALD - University Of Missouri
item MILLER, GREGORY - Empire Chestnut Company
item MEIER, NICHOLAS - University Of Missouri
item WEBBER, JOHN - University Of Missouri
item ROMERO-SEVERSON, JEANNE - Notre Dame
item GOLD, MICHAEL - University Of Missouri
item LOVELL, SARAH - University Of Missouri

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/29/2021
Publication Date: 1/3/2022
Citation: Revord, R.S., Miller, G., Meier, N.A., Webber, J.B., Romero-Severson, J., Gold, M.A., Lovell, S.T. 2022. A roadmap for participatory chestnut breeding for nut production in the eastern United States. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.735597.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.735597

Interpretive Summary: Chestnut cultivation for nut production is increasing in the eastern half of the United States, largely the result of grower-led on-farm improvement, but greater investment is needed for improvement to continue through breeding. University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA) and chestnut growers throughout the eastern United States are partnering to formalize a participatory breeding program – the Chestnut Improvement Network. This partnership entails the UMCA providing an organizational structure and leadership to coordinate on-farm improvement, implement strategic crossing schemes, and integrate genetic tools. Chestnut growers offer structural capacity by planting orchards that provide financial support for the grower but also have research potential that create great value for the industry.

Technical Abstract: Chestnut cultivation for nut production is increasing in the eastern half of the United States. Chinese chestnuts (Castanea mollissima Blume), or Chinese hybrids with European (C. sativa Mill.) and Japanese chestnuts (C. crenata Sieb. & Zucc.), are cultivated due to their high kernel quality, climatic adaptation, and disease resistance. Several hundred thousand pounds of high-quality fresh nuts are taken to market every fall, and several hundred additional orchards are entering bearing years. Grower-led on-farm improvement has largely facilitated this growth. A lack of significant investments in chestnut breeding in the region, paired with issues of graft incompatibility, has led many growers to cultivate seedlings of cultivars rather than grafted cultivars. After decades of evaluation, selection, and sharing of plant materials, growers have reached a threshold of improvement where commercial seedling orchards can be reliably established by planting offspring from elite selected parents. Growers recognize that if cooperation persists and university expertise and resources are enlisted, improvement can continue and accelerate. To this end, the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA) and chestnut growers throughout the eastern United States are partnering to formalize a participatory breeding program – the Chestnut Improvement Network. This partnership entails the UMCA providing an organizational structure and leadership to coordinate on-farm improvement, implement strategic crossing schemes, and integrate genetic tools. Chestnut growers offer structural capacity by cultivating seedling production orchards that provide financial support for the grower but also house segregating populations with improved individuals, in situ repositories, and selection trials, creating great value for the industry.