Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Fwd: Protecting the Butternut Tree

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org, nutgrowers@yahoogroups.com
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Fwd: Protecting the Butternut Tree
  • Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2005 09:27:50 -0500


The Sept 2004 issue of the NNGA Nutshell included an article from Dr. Charles Spurgeon, the NNGA Butternut Inventory Committee Chairman.
In it he summarized some of his experiences of 25 years with grafted butternut, buartnut, and heartnut(all on eastern BW rootstock) in his grove, which has a 'well-developed and well-nourished naturally-occurring strain of the Sirococcus fungus'.

'Ayers', 'Bountiful', 'Coble #1', and 'Kenworthy' - all selections which have been propagated as 'butternut' for years - are healthy, but recent genetic testing has revealed these to be, in actuality, buartnuts - hybrids of butternut and heartnut.
Eight other named butternut clones(Bear Creek, Beckwith, Booth, Buckley, Chamberlin, Creighton, My Joy, VanSyckle) in his grove are all severely affected and in decline, while some known hybrids are mildly affected.

Dr. Spurgeon put forward the following suggestions, based on his experience:
"1. All true butternuts are at risk from the Sirococcus fungus and those that appear healthy are either hybrids with Japanese walnut(or the heartnut bud sport), or are in isolated stands that have not been exposed to the fungus.
2. Butterjap and buarts are variably tolerant of the Sirococcus fungus; resistance ranges from partial to complete.
3. Pure Japanese walnut and its bud sport heartnut are completely tolerant of Sirococcus, presumably because both evolved together."

Dr. Spurgeon's take-home message was:
"The BAD news - pure butternut is a dying specie that will likely become extinct in the not-too-distant future. The GOOD news is that hybrids of butternut with Japanese walnut and heartnut can be used to replace pure butternut - and, in fact, there are several of these hybrids which have been mistakenly identified as butternut for several decades.
The future is already here for Sirococcus-resistant butternut hybrids."






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page