RGS Planting at Moshannon State Forest
In late May, North Central Regional Science Coordinator Lake Graboski led a very exciting planting of first-generation recurrent genomic selection (RGS) seed orchard chestnut trees in a Moshannon State Forest orchard. (Learn more about RGS here, including how it is determined that out of all of the crosses from the 2024 cohort assigned to our region, these particular trees are the most likely to have both blight resistance and American character, based on their DNA.)
Lake was joined by volunteer Anais and staff and interns from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR): Rachel, Levi, and Adam. Multiple plantings have taken place this year (as happens every year). They all play a part in American chestnut restoration, but this one will be especially interesting to watch grow.
Seventy-five trees were planted. Time and care were taken to make sure the new trees were arranged correctly, as each tree was pre-assigned its own row and column number by TACF’s Director of Science Jared Westbrook. The first step was to lay out the trees and make certain they were placed in their correct locations. The right help (thanks, DCNR and volunteer Anais!) and the right tools (like Lake’s handy auger) made fairly quick work of the planting. It was a great day with a great team! If this looks like fun, good news–we’re always looking for volunteers (both in the field and at outreach events)! If you’d like to help out, email admin@panjtacf.org, or sign up here.
