So you ’re ready to produce your own chestnut trees , or maybe you already have a few in the backyard . Do you know how to keep them healthy , producing sizable return of addict each twelvemonth when they extend to maturity ?
Insects , as well as some larger visitors to your garden , may relish junket on the tasty nuts , Sir Henry Joseph Wood , or farewell . Or perhaps they ’re after a cozy seat to lie their eggs . But what ’s a home orchardist to do ?
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We cover the rudiments in ourguide to grow chestnut .
Here , we ’ll go over the most common blighter in a bit more point so you ’ll love what to be on the lookout for , with tips for preventing and mitigating damage and infestation .
5 Common Chestnut Tree Pests
1. Larger Herbivores and Omnivores
Deer can do a lot of problems , since they love to munch on the fresh nuts . So do squirrels , chipmunk , tempestuous turkey , bear … the tilt goes on and on ! And deer may take a bite or two out of saplings as well .
The best thing to do is toinstall protective and good fencing around your garden to block up the deerand other animal from pay back in in the first place , especially when your tree diagram are young and vulnerable .
telegram cages may also be used around the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , or electric fences . There are also anumber of cervid repellents on offer , but keep in mind that these have to be applied regularly to be effective , and this can become a bit time - ware for backyard growers .
Likewise , many varieties ofbirdsand gnawer can be a spot of a nuisance as they like these nuts just as much as humans do , if not more , in some cases .
You could opt to erect a wire batting cage - case shelter around small trees to guard against cheeky chestnut - steal animal . But this will not work for with child tree .
Instead , be sure to harvest quickly and often when the chestnut start to fall , to save as much of the crop as you may for yourself .
2. Aphids
These trees are vulnerable to aphid attack , especially the European or mellifluous variety ( Castanea sativa ) , which is particularly bothered by the sweet chestnut aphid ( Myzocallis castanicola ) .
Luckily , infestation seldom have enough of an effect on the trees to require treatment .
little sapling inundate with a large infestation can be sprayed with a strong watercourse of waterfrom the hoseto dislodge the sap - take up beasts .
you could take with aphid in the garden in our usher .
3. Asian Chestnut Gall Wasps
Considered the most meaning pest of chestnuts throughout the world , larvae of the Asian chestnut tree gall white Anglo-Saxon Protestant ( Dryocosmus kuriphilus ) create gall on the leaves and buds of these trees .
Introduced incidentally to the US in 1974 , this pest was first find in Georgia on an imported Chinese chestnut tree ( C. mollissima ) .
Gaining a broad spread in the US since the ‘ 70s , this tiny wasp is known to go on today in Georgia , Alabama , North Carolina , Tennessee , Virginia , Kentucky , Ohio , Maryland , and Pennsylvania . It was first detected in Europe in the early 2000s , and has spread significantly there in the intervening years .
pocket-size white larvae measuring about two and a half millimetre in length hatch out of even tinier blanched testicle .
The adult distaff white Anglo-Saxon Protestant are n’t much larger , about two and a one-half to three millimeters long , with black body , orange to dark-brown leg , and translucent wings . breeding hap without coupling , and the unimpregnated eggs develop into female ringer .
When the adult emerge in the summertime , they place their eggs inside the formulate bud of chestnut tree , sometimes more than 100 nut per adult . The eggs hatch in 30 to 40 days , and the first instars overwinter inside the bud .
At bud fit , green or pink galls are formed , each of which can contain several larva . The larva continue inside the rancor for about 50 days , and the adults come forth through exit holes that they make in the gall in June or July .
The galls become dry , woody , and dark-brown , and they can persist on the trees for several class .
These pests can stimulate significant decrease in output , and infestation can have bud and bloom driblet , inhibit photosynthesis , and direct to twig dieback . Severe infestations can kill tree , or leave them more susceptible to secondary transmission such as chestnut blight .
Early espial is the best course of direction , and grower can check their trees for signs of galls in the spring and ruin affected plant thing if they are able to . Of course , if the trees are tall , this may prove unmanageable if not impossible .
Since the larva are protect within the galls and the canopy of chestnuts are often towering high overhead , chemic controls are mostly ineffective as well .
Some campaign have been made to cover insubordinate trees , including a European - Japanese loan-blend call ‘ Bouche de Bétizac . ’ And introduce the parasitoid chalcid waspTorymus sinensishas proven highly effective ; however , the future environmental wallop of this sort of biologic control remains unknown .
Regulated as a quarantined pest in some role of the world , contact your local extension federal agent for recommendations if you find its bearing .
4. Two-Lined Chestnut Borers
You may also come in across the two - lined chestnut borer ( Agrilus bilineatus ) , a variety of wood - bore jewel mallet .
These mallet were once primary gadfly of American chestnut tree tree diagram ( C. dentata ) , and today coinage of oak serve as their primary innkeeper . This pesterer favor to overrun trees that are alreadyweakened by diseaseor punctuate , though this is not always the case .
The adult beetle are under half an in long , supple and black with a light sensationalistic grade insignia on each wing cover . dynamic in late spring and summertime , adults eat on leaves at the height of the trees before pose their eggs in cracks and crevices in the barque .
The larvae that hatch are white and about an inch long , with two spine on the posterior closing .
These eats dig wind mine through the inner bark and outer sapwood of tree , often girdle them , and progressing from the tops of the tree downwards . The damage they induce can lead to dieback , and the eventual expiry of infested trees .
After the larvae pupate , grownup beetles emerge through D - shaped hole in the bark , but these can be hard to recognize .
insecticide are often used preventively by commercial grower , but the best line of activeness for the habitation nurseryman is to provide the best potential care to their trees to avoid infestation . Healthy tree diagram are much less susceptible .
5. Weevils
Weevilsare unreassuring for these Tree . Larvae rest in the Nut are ready to chew their way out by the time they hit the land in the fall , make considerable crop losses .
The lesser or small chestnut tree weevil ( Curculio sayi)and the large or great chestnut tree weevil ( Curculio caryatrypes)in especial are the most vulgar weevil pestilence of these trees , though they are known toinfest only American and Chinese chestnut .
Emerging from the ground in late spring and early summer , adultC. sayiweevils lay their testicle in the fall , when the nut are near matured . put in the inner membrane covering the nuts after the burrs have crack , they think of in about 10 days .
A few calendar week subsequently , after the nuts fall to the ground , the larvae jaw their way out and burrow into the soil .
Completing their life cycle over the course of several years , the grubs keep to modernize in the soil through two winters , typically spend another wintertime underground as grownup before emerging .
C. caryatrypesadults emerge by and by , in midsummer , set their eggs before long after . These hatching in five to seven day , and within a few workweek , they chew their way out of the addict and drop to the priming coat , typically before the whacky dusk .
Overwintering in the soil , the larvae pupate and emerge as adult the comply summertime , though some may overwinter for a second year .
dependable sanitisation is the healthiest , most ecologically well-disposed way to cope with weevils .
This means harvest home directly off of the trees if you ’re capable to – though you probably wo n’t be , once your tree reach their fledged sizing – and collecting diminish nuts daily , before the larvae can escape into the ground .
Any infested nut can then either be disposed of in the trash or sting , if this is permitted in your sphere .
good nematodesmay also test effectual against weevil chow .
Tell Pesky Pests to Leave Your Chestnuts Alone!
Well , that about plow it – the top pests you may encounter , with a few suggestions for preventing and managing infestations .
Sorry to disappoint , if you were hoping for good solution to deal with some of these . The the true is , eradicating small louse pests or keeping birds and other type of wildlife away from your enticing fruitcake tree altogether is n’t often feasible .
But as part of a good for you ecosystem where the trees are well cared for and their need are met , chestnut mature today should prove less susceptible to a variety of common insect plague .
With enough sunshine and water , paying attention alimony and harvesting , and appropriate cleanup at the last of the season , you ’ll give your tree the best chance of avoiding or withstanding a pest plague .
And for more information on develop your ownnut treesat home , register these guides next :
© enquire the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more detail . Uncredited photograph : Shutterstock . picture cite . importantly revised and enlarge upon a version written by Natasha Foote .
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