CHESTNUT BLIGHT AND RESISTANT CHESTNUTS 19 
soil can be worked. Planting stock 
may be 1 to 3 years old. The trees 
should be planted at the same depth 
at which they grew in the nursery. 
In refilling the holes, it is important 
that the soil be worked in around 
the roots to avoid air pockets. Do 
not put any fertilizer in the tree 
hole. 
Grass and weeds may kill trans- 
planted chestnut trees before the 
trees are large enough to compete 
with them for soil moisture and 
minerals. Cultivate the trees often 
enough to keep grass and weeds 
from growing within 6 feet of any 
ofthem. Begin cultivation in early 
spring and continue into July or 
early August. Sow a winter cover 
crop in the fall if the entire orchard 
area is cultivated. 
Row crops of various kinds, such 
as corn, cotton, and beans, can be 
own in the orchard for the first 
ew years. 
On most soils Chinese chestnut 
trees respond to fertilizers. After 
the transplanted trees begin to 
grow, about 1 pound of 5-10-5 or 
6-8-6 fertilizer should be applied 
around each tree and worked into 
the soil. The following year, at 
about the time growth starts, 2 
pounds of the same fertilizer should 
be applied in the same way. There- 
after, the quantity of fertilizer ap- 
plied per tree should be increased 
each year by about 2 pounds until 
it reaches 20 pounds. 
Young orchard chestnut trees 
should be pruned to a single trunk. 
Chinese chestnuts tend to branch 
low on the trunk, and in many cases 
they develop a bushy form if not 
pruned. Such form makes it diffi- 
cult to work around the trees and to 
harvest the nuts. Pruning sufficient 
to train the tree to the desired form 
is all that is required. Additional 
pruning reduces the size of the tree 
and delays nut production. 
Harvesting and Storing Nuts 
Nuts on Chinese chestnut trees 
usually begin to mature about the 
first of September in the Southern 
States and in late September or 
early October in the Northern 
States. At maturity, the burs usu- 
ally open and release the nuts. Har- 
vesting should begin as soon as the 
first nuts drop to the ground. 
Fallen nuts should be gathered at 
least every other day. Chestnuts 
are a perishable crop. If not prop- 
erly harvested and stored, they de- 
cay or dry out quickly and become 
hard and bony. 
Chestnuts may be kept for several 
months by storing them in metal 
cans at low temperatures with pro- 
tection against drying out. The 
nuts remain in good condition if 
kept at a temperature of 32° F. and 
a relative humidity of about 70 per- 
cent. For ventilation each can 
should have several holes about 4, 
inch in diameter. Small lots of nuts 
can be kept in the home refrigerator 
for several months if stored in cans 
or jars with loose fitting lids. When 
cold storage is not available the nuts 
may be stratified, that is, stored in 
layers alternating with layers of 
moist sand, or buried in the ground 
in a well drained location protected 
from rodents. 
Insects and Diseases 
Two species of weevil often attack 
the nuts, causing them to become 
wormy. These weevils can be con- 
trolled by spraying the trees with 
DDT 3 times at intervals of about 
12 days. The best date to begin 
spraying varies from place to place 
and from season to season. In the 
vicinity of Washington, D. C., it is 
usually about August 15. To pre- 
pare the DDT spraying material, 
add 4 pounds of a 50-percent or 8 
pounds of a 25-percent DDT wetta- 
