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Preliminary report on the segregation of resistance in chestnuts to infestation by oriental chestnut gall wasp

Informally Refereed

Abstract

In 1995, hybrid chestnuts were planted in North Carolina, (southern U.S.A.),

where the introduced insect Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) is

present. Of the 93 trees planted, 53 survived 12 years and were evaluated for the

presence of Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp infestation. Among the survivors, 11 had

no wasp galls and 25 had few galls. Because the female parents were all susceptible,

the genes controlling resistance to infestation cannot be cytoplasmic. Numbers of

trees with little or no infestation suggest that genetic control may be a single,

dominant nuclear gene. If this 'is true, resistance can easily be transferred into

timber chestnuts and orchard chestnut cultivars.

Keywords

Breeding, Dryocosmus, susceptibility, genetically controlled

Citation

Anagnostakis, S; Clark, Stacy; Mcnab, Henry. 2009. Preliminary report on the segregation of resistance in chestnuts to infestation by oriental chestnut gall wasp. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Chestnut Management in Mediterranean Countries. Bursa, Turkey ISHS Section Nuts and Mditerranean Climate Fruits, ISHA Chestnut Working Group. Acta Horticulturae 815. March 2009
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/33960