The Latest Chestnut Innovations From Dr. Ron Revord of UMCA
Dr. Ron Revord is leading the advancement of chestnuts in the United States through his work at the University of Missouri.
Ronald Revord, Assistant Research Professor and Lead Breeder of Tree Nuts at the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, discusses his typical day and the goals of his work.
His schedule is heavily influenced by the seasonal calendar year, and he spends much of his time in the greenhouse during the spring. He also shares the all-hands-on-deck atmosphere during pollination and harvest season and the importance of balancing fieldwork and computer work.
Dr. Ron Revord explained the tree nut breeding program, which involves selecting germplasm, complementary hybridization, progeny evaluation, and replicated evaluation. He emphasized the importance of finding breeding parents with complementary traits. He explained how the program aims to create a new release that is better than existing cultivars in some way. He also discussed the physical work and team efforts in managing a breeding program and highlighted the importance of attention to detail and data analysis.
Ron and host Melanie Jones from United Chestnuts discuss the benefits of grafted trees for chestnut orchard production, including higher yields, but also acknowledge that seedlings are a viable option in many environments.
Learn about the early stages of chestnut tree research and growth in the United States, the need for more information on cloning and grafting, and the importance of diversity in cultivars and the lack of a “best” option.
Finally, they discussed the growing interest in chestnut farming and the need for more information and resources for new growers.
Consider subscribing to the Branching Out podcast on the United Chestnuts YouTube channel, this blog, and joining the Facebook United Chestnuts Community group. Branching Out: Growing Together podcast episodes are also available on other platforms, such as Spotify, Audible, and iHeartRadio.
If you are interested in purchasing chestnut trees, reach out or learn more at unitedchestnuts.com.
