Resistance - Hope for the Future

Early attempts at controlling Chestnut blight involved crossing the American chestnut with the Chinese chestnut, with the expectation that some of the hybrids would show resistance to the disease as well as the upright form of the American chestnut.  However, initial results were discouraging.  Recently, a new program involving several generations of backcrosses to the American chestnut was initiated in another attempt to combine resistance with good tree form.  A breeding program using tried-and-proven resistance-breeding methods is underway at several research centres in the USA, particularly through the American Chestnut Foundation (ACF) 

• Recently, the CCC has initiated a breeding program in association with the ACF.  This breeding program will combine resistant breeding material from the ACF and other sources with American chestnut that is adapted to Ontario soil and environment conditions.

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Outreach & Education...

Various reports on the status of restoration efforts, tree population surveys, DNA analysis, breeding and propagation programs, etc.

The American Chestnut

• An Endangered Species
• Current Status in Canada
• Distribution in Ontario
• Chestnut Blight
• Identifying Chestnut Trees
• Found a chestnut/ Report a chestnut
• Have an American chestnut - Check its Pedigree
• Population dynamics and the influence of blight on American chestnut at its northern range limit: Lessons for conservation

Mission & History

• A Decade of Progress
• Recovery Plan
• Hypovirulence
• American Chestnut in Nova Scotia
• Resistance – Hope for the Future
• Breeding for Resistance
• Directors Past and Present
• Our Founder - Dr. Colin McKeen

Updates from the..

Questions & Resources