We have made a lot of progress since acorn collecting started in 2019! Seedling growth in the nursery was good and we have over 3000 seedlings representing 50 parent trees from 9 different states ready to be out-planted into progeny tests in March 2021.
The distilling industry has taken the lead in supplying land and support for progeny testing in Kentucky where a repository to conserve genetic material via offspring from all seed sources, and other smaller progeny tests are being established. We are seeking partners to help us establish several smaller regional progeny tests sites across the range of white oak. Currently, we have potential partners in Indiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
In 2020, over 75 grafts were made to initiate the clone bank. Acorn and scion collecting will continue annually until the entire geographic range of white oak is represented.
The 2020 acorn collecting effort is underway with volunteers spread across 20 states!
The program can use your help in many ways. We need help getting acorn collections from across the entire range of white oak and we need partners for regional progeny tests. For more information, on acorn collecting click here. For more information about the project, click here.
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