3 ms·

american? did you get the hybrid that can withstand the blight?

• pfdietz 3y ago
  Yes, it's a seventh generation backcross with the Chinese Chestnut (so, almost entirely American, but as they backcrossed they kept selecting for blight tolerance). There were three bareroot plants left over from a local planting project. Another group is working on a genetically engineered blight tolerant chestnut, which added an enzyme (from wheat, I think) to destroy the toxic oxalate created by the blight pathogen. It would be interesting to get some of those and have them interbreed with the ones I have.