2020

Awarded: $5,000

Primary Researchers: Willett and Filgueiras.  Cornell AgriTech.

The lesser chestnut weevil presents challenges for continued expansion of the chestnut industry in the US. Preliminary studies in 2019 and 2020 in NY have shown that the phenology of the Chestnut weevil in the Northeast does not match with reports from other parts of the country. We have established a trapping network throughout NY and with collaborators in New Jersey and Pennsylvania we can monitor C. sayi throughout the field season and characterize populations via DNA barcoding.  Thus, we propose to: 1) Determine phenology of the lesser chestnut weevil (Curculio sayi) in the Northeastern US, and 2) Determine population structure of C. sayi in the Northeastern US.

2019

Awarded: $5,000

Primary Researchers: Brannan and Anderson. Ohio University.

Nutritional data for the North American Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) should be updated. The nutrition information was last available in the 1963 USDA Food Composition Database, but was removed shortly after. In 1982, the Northern Nut Growers Association published nutritional analysis on pawpaw. At that time, whole pawpaws were analyzed, including the inedible pawpaw skin. This inadvertently over-estimated the nutritional values. This data is still in use today. This proposal seeks funding to update pawpaw nutritional data for the edible pulp only. The analysis will be performed by an accredited contract laboratory under the direction of an Ohio University food scientist who is considered an expert on the pawpaw.

2019

Awarded: $9,806

Primary Researchers: Ivey and Miller. Ohio State University.

Chestnut production in the US is a rapidly growing industry however nut yield and quality are threatened by the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporiodes species complex (CGSC), which causes blossom end rot (BER).  To date, three species in the CGSC have been putatively identified to cause BER in Ohio.  Blossom end rot causes blackening of the kernels rendering them non-marketable as food and non-viable as seed.  The pathogen is thought to initiate infection during the catkin or flowering growth stage, although the disease cycle has not been deciphered in chestnut.  In order to develop an effective and sustainable disease management program for chestnut BER it is critical that we gain a better understanding of the fungi causing BER and at what stages of growth infection occurs.  The goal of this project is to characterize the species of CGSC and identify the tissues where initial infection occurs.

2018

Awarded: $5,000

Primary Researchers: Andrea Brennan, Sean Hoban, Aziz Ebrahimi, and Douglass Jacobs. Purdue University.

We propose a cold and heat stress tolerance comparison of butternut, Japanese walnut, and their hybrids and the genetic analysis of the material used for confirmation of species identity. Hybrids of butternut and Japanese walnut have been proposed as alternatives to pure butternut in light of the threat of butternut canker disease. An evaluation of the temperature stress tolerances of these species and hybrids by provenance would aid growers and scientists in the determination of properly adapted plants that have increased survival and reproduction ability in wild and cultivated landscapes.

2017

Awarded: $5,000

Primary Researchers: Jeanne Romero-Severson. University of Notre Dame.

As the chestnut industry continues to develop in the USA there are needs for: 1) characterization of genetic resources, 2) genetic improvement through breeding, and 3) maintenance of the integrity of cultivars. DNA sequencing technology now provides affordable tools that can facilitate these needs. Specifically, my lab is now beginning to develop ancestry informative DNA markers for chestnut. The objective of this project is to develop such a marker set that will be able to: 1) distinguish the seven species of chestnut, 2) identify the species admixture of interspecific hybrids, 3) ascertain recent pedigrees, 4) identify close relatives (parents, sibs, grandparents, half-sibs), 4) provide a unique “fingerprint” for each individual tree (cultivar), and 5) locate potential quantitative trait loci (QTL’s) that confer desirable phenotypes. Such marker sets have proven value in breeding other crops. To develop this marker set I need DNA from all seven species and enough individuals from each species to adequately represent variation within species. I estimate that I will need at least 400 unrelated individuals, plus replicates of cultivars to verify identity. Sampled individuals do not have to be pure species, nor must the species identity be known for all individuals. Computer programs will distinguish the “ethnic groups” which should correspond to species. The total cost for this project will be $40,000, which is being funded by a consortium of chestnut organizations; I’m asking for $5000 from the NNGA.

2016

Awarded: $4,385

Primary Researchers: Michele Warmund and Jerry VanSambeek. University of Missouri.

Germination of Eastern black walnut typically requires a period of stratification (moist chilling for 90 to 120 days) with a success rate of 50 to 60% emergence after a period of warm temperatures.  With this long stratification period, there is incomplete germination of viable seed and a shorter growing season for new seedlings, which results in high tree costs.  Earlier work on other walnut species suggests that soaking walnuts in gibberellic acid (GA) before stratification may improve germination.  Therefore, this study will evaluate the percent of germination, rate of germination, and early seedling growth of hulled Thomas black walnuts pre-treated with GA₃, Provide (GA₄₊₇), Promalin, or tap water for 24 hr before stratification.  Following stratification for 30, 45, 60, or 90 days, walnuts will be planted in flats in a greenhouse maintained at 77 F and germination will be recorded daily for two months after each stratification period.  Stem caliper and seedling dry weight will also be recorded and all data will be subjected to statistical analyses.  Enhanced germination of walnuts should result in lower tree costs for producers.  Also, increased germination of seed from newly developed selections from breeding programs will result in more rapid multiplication and dissemination of new superior Eastern black walnut cultivars to producers.

2015

Awarded: $4,360

Primary Researchers: Kathleen Forbes, John Letourneau, and Martin Williams, Atlantic Forestry Center, Natural Resources Canada.

This project proposes the development of 2 methods for germinating butternut without canker, thus ensuring that you are not working with canker contaminated stock. The first method involves growing butternut seedlings from whole seeds using different seed treatments and the second involves the growing butternut seedlings from axes (root shoot axis with the majority of the cotelydonary tissue removed), in non—sterile conditions with different treatments. In the second method, Iaboratory manipulation steps currently required in the protocol will be optimised to create a simplified protocol for growing butternut from axes. If successful, this would provide nurseries with an easy to use method for growing butternut seedlings as well as significantly limit the contamination of butternut seedlings from OC—j during early growth. This could also potentially lower the cost of production since more seedlings should survive canker free.