I’ve seen reports lately that indicate that the chestnut tree, which was wiped out by a deadly fungus called the chestnut blight in 1904, is making a comeback.
This stately forest tree has been sorely missed by people and industries that depended on the tree to provide lumber for barns and houses, and food for deer, bears, people, and livestock. “The chestnut was one of the most important trees in the ecology of the Appalachian Mountains says Ron Sederoff, professor of forestry at Noath Carolina State University.”
Preliminary reports are promising from federal and private researchers who have been trying since the 1980′s to grow a blight-resistant chestnut tree.
In the past, the saplings have died when they reached about a year old, but the new saplings have been breed with the Chinese chestnut trees that have been resistant to the blight.
The 1,200 saplings that survived their first year is an exciting development for those in the horticulture business as well as those that once depended on this grand tree to sustain their way of life.
The death of chestnut tree was one of the reasons the Appalachian Mountains region fell into decline. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have this tree growing again in its natural habitat?
