< Select A Different Album 2007 Chestnut Harvest in the Appalachians October 5, 2007 Nuts from open pollinated pure American chestnut trees growing in the wild and nuts from backcrossed, hand pollinated chestnut trees were harvested the fall of 2007. Despite a severe drought starting in the summer and extending into the fall, the number of burrs harvested is significant. The nuts will be removed from the burrs, labeled as to origin, and stored until the spring when they are ready for distribution to growers. Click on any photo to enlarge it. Carolinas Chapter members and friends had a hand in helping harvest the 2007 crop of chestnuts growing in the Appalachian Mountains. National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway biologists issued permits allowing collection of burrs from pure American chestnut trees in the Park. The burrs collected by members produced 1275 nuts. Click on any picture to enlarge it. Pictured is an American chestnut tree full of burrs bearing chestnuts. The pollen that helped the nuts germinate came from other nearby American chestnut trees growing in the same clearing along the Blue Ridge Parkway. As Judy Coker, Carolinas Chapter Board Member, looks on, Lisa Smith uses a tree pruner to clip burrs from a pure American chestnut tree growing along Grandmother Mountain Road in North Carolina. Mary Fisher, holding one of the burrs in her gloved hand, examines it. The nuts collected from pure American chestnut trees are: 1) Planted in mother tree orchards where they might be pollinated at a later date. 2) Planted in backcrossed orchards as a control since the trees they produce should be susceptible to and show a susceptible reaction to the inoculated blight used to test reactions in all orchard trees. 3) Distributed in seed kits that people request from the American Chestnut Foundation. Carolinas Chapter President Steve Barilovits III is pictured using a tree pruner to harvest pure American chestnuts along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. Lucy Laurent uses a hand pruner to harvest pure American chestnut burrs that can be reached from the ground. She is the sister of Jane, Steve Barilovits's wife, was visiting from Phoenix, Arizona, and helped with the harvest. Chestnuts burrs sometimes are harvested from the boom of a bucket truck, especially if the tree had been hand pollinated using a bucket truck. Harvested chestnuts are collected in bags that are labeled to indicate the origin of the nuts, the parent tree and the source of pollen, if hand pollinated. The bags of chestnut burrs are brought to a location to be "shucked." Pictured are bags of burrs waiting to be shucked at the American Chestnut Foundation's Meadowview Research Farm in southwest Virginia. Jon Taylor is pictured shucking chestnuts from burrs that were collected in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Rubber gloves are worn by shuckers to protect their hands from being pricked and punctured by the dried out spines of the chestnut burrs. Pictured is a woman at the Meadowview Research Farm preparing to cut open a chestnut burr harvested at the farm. It takes a person experienced in opening chestnut burrs to use a knife to do so safely. Once shucked, nuts are stored in moistened sphagnum moss and sealed inside plastic bags and are refrigerated at just above 32 degrees Fahrenheit to induce winterization. The dormant nuts will start sprouting next spring and will be ready for planting in orchards. < Select A Different Album < Home