Preliminary report on the segregation of resistance in chestnuts to infestation by oriental chestnut gall wasp
Authors: | S Anagnostakis, Stacy Clark, Henry Mcnab |
Year: | 2009 |
Type: | Scientific Journal |
Station: | Southern Research Station |
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.