Some scientists consider the loss of the American chestnut from forests in the eastern United States as one of the greatest forest ecological disasters in the 20th century. The American Chestnut Foundation has been attempting to restore chestnut by backcrossing blight‐resistant Chinese chestnut to American chestnut and selecting those strains with blight resistance. Third‐generation backcross seeds and seedlings have been produced and planted by researchers. Surface‐mined lands provide a land base where these backcross chestnut seedlings may be introduced back into forests. In 2008, seeds of two parent species of chestnut (100% American and 100% Chinese) and three breeding generations (B1F3, B2F3, and B3F2 backcrosses) were planted into loosely graded mine soils with and without tree shelters. First‐year establishment from seeds averaged 81%. After the fourth year, survival without shelters declined for all chestnut stock types except for Chinese (80%): American 40%, B1F3 70%, B2F3 40%, and B3F2 55%. Survival with shelters was only slightly better after the fourth year (average, 60% with shelters and 57% without). Height growth was not different among stock types, and average height after the fourth year was 43 cm without shelters and 56 cm with shelters. In 2009, seeds and seedlings of the same chestnut stock types were planted into brown (pH 4.5) or gray (pH 6.6) mine soils. Only six out of 250 seeds germinated, which was very poor considering 81% average seed germination in 2008. Transplanted chestnut seedling survival was much better. After the third year, seedling survival was 85% in brown and 80% in gray soil, but significant differences were found with stock types. Survival was significantly higher with American, Chinese, and B1F3 stock types (75%) than with B2F3 and B3F2 (60%). Height after the third season averaged 90 cm on brown and 62 cm on gray soil. Chestnut backcrosses displayed no hybrid vigor and were not better in survival and growth than the parent stock. All five stock types grew on mine soils in West Virginia, and we found surface mines to be promising sites for introducing blight‐resistant chestnut backcross trees into the Appalachian forest.

No abstract

This study was conducted on an annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) putting green and examined the effects on ball roll distance (BRD) from five mowing and rolling frequency regimes using both a light and heavy roller with and without Primo Maxx. Treatments included: (i) mow daily with no rolling; (ii) mow daily + roll M, W, F; (iii) mow daily + roll daily; (iv) mow M, W, F, Sa + roll daily; and (v) alternate mowing and rolling daily. For six weeks during the summers of 2009 and 2010, ball roll distances were measured in the morning and afternoon, Monday through Friday. BRD decreased an average of 0.5 ft from the morning to the afternoon. The heavy roller significantly increased BRD in 2009 by 0.4 ft or less, but not in 2010. Primo Maxx increased BRD an average of 0.5 ft in 2010, but not in 2009. Mowing + rolling daily produced the longest BRD followed by mow daily + roll M, W, F and mow M, W, F, Sa + roll every day which was 0.5 ft less. Mow daily with no rolling and alternate mowing and rolling daily had the shortest BRD averaging 1.2 ft less than mowing and rolling daily.

The purpose was to determine the effects of K fertilization on freezing tolerance and carbohydrate content of Festuca arundinacea Schreb. ‘Kentucky 31’ which was reputed to be susceptible to cold injury in northern areas of the U.S. From September through mid‐November, K from KCl was applied to field plots of Bridgehampton silt loam soil in increments to achieve levels of 0, 10, 20 or 40 kg/ha. The same plots received a total of 20 kg N/ha as NH4NO3 in four splits ending in mid‐October. Sand cultures were fertilized three times/week with solutions containing 200 ppm N, 64 ppm P, and 0, 50, or 200 ppm K. Other essential elements were applied in standard amounts and Na was excluded. Samples from both areas were analyzed from October 1973 through April 1974. Tissue K was determined by flame photometry and freezing tolerance by percentage of total electrolytes lost from crown tissue after freezing. Water and 85% ethanol soluble carbohydrates were determined by anthrone and polymeric carbohydrates by the difference between water and ethanol soluble values. Though exchangeable soil K measured low in field plots originally, available K was adequate for development of freezing tolerance and accumulation of carbohydrates since neither was influenced by K fertilization. In sand culture tissue no effects on either freezing tolerance or carbohydrate content were observed even though K contents ranged from 0.7% to over 3% of dry weight during the cold hardening period. Results suggest fall fertilization with K is not critical to development of freezing tolerance or accumulation of carbohydrates under Rhode Island conditions.

Reclamation of surface mined sites to forests is a preferred post-mining land use option, but performance of planted trees on such sites is variable. American chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.) is a threatened forest tree in the eastern USA that may become an important species option for mine reclamation. Chestnut restoration using backcross hybrids that incorporate blight resistance may be targeted to the Appalachian coal mining region, which corresponds closely with the species’ native range. Thus, it is important to understand how chestnut hybrids perform relative to progenitors on reclamation sites to develop restoration prescriptions. Seeds of parents and three backcross generations of chestnut (100% American, 100% Chinese, and BC1F3, BC2F3, and BC3F2 hybrids) were planted into mine soils in West Virginia, USA with shelter treatments. Survival for all stock types was 44% after 8 years (American 39%, Chinese 77%, BC1F3 40%, BC2F3 28%, and BC3F2 35%). Height for all stock types was 33 cm after 8 years (American 28 cm, Chinese 67 cm, BC1F3 30 cm, BC2F3 21 cm, and BC3F2 20 cm). At another site a year later, seedlings of the chestnut stock types were planted into brown (pH 4.6) or gray sandstone (pH 6.3) mine soils and seedling survival across all stock types was 58% after 7 years. Chinese had the highest survival at 82%, while the others ranged from 38 to 66%. Height was 63 cm for all stock types after 7 years. More advanced backcross hybrids (BC2F3 and BC3F2) had the lowest vigor ratings at both sites after 7–8 years. Our results indicate that surface mines in Appalachia may provide a land base for planting blight-resistant chestnuts, although Chinese chestnut outperformed American chestnut and later generation backcross hybrids. As blight-resistant chestnuts establish and spread after planting, chestnut trees may become a component of the forest canopy again and possibly occupy its former niche, but their spread may alter future forest stand dynamics.