Some do still bear fruit even inside blight range. I live in NJ and have a survivor that's stressed but able to produce. Got a few handfuls out last year and wa

Some do still bear fruit even inside blight range. I live in NJ and have a survivor that's stressed but able to produce. Got a few handfuls out last year and was able to try some for the first time. This yield is compared to the few truckloads I get off the 2 chinese chestnuts here, but it's something. Basically, there's 2 ways to bring these trees back to blight range (or something approximating them). Method 1 is hybridization route with Chinese chestnut, method 2 is genetically modified route using a single wheat protein gene to confer resistance. Method 2 needs approval and there was a request for comment open a couple years about it.