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Characteristics of the Sweet chestnut:

The Sweet chestnut or Spanish chestnut (Castanea sativa) is a deciduous tree from the beech family (Fagaceae).

The tree is tall, erect, with a wide, spreading crown. The root system has a strong central root and strong skeletal roots. The life cycle of a tree is up to 500 years. Depending on the variety, the sweet chestnut reaches a height of 10-40 m.

Planting the Sweet chestnut:

To plant a chestnut tree, choose a sunny and wide-open spot.

Before planting a chestnut, keep in mind that it does best in slightly acidic to neutral soil (pH 5.5-7.0), and liming is necessary in more acidic soil. The soil should preferably be fertile, rich in organic matter and well drained. Heavy and soggy soils are not suitable. This saturates the pores of the soil with water and deprives them of oxygen, exacerbating problems like root rot.

<span>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@ripato?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ricardo Gomez Angel</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/chestnut?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm

The trees are planted in spring or late autumn/winter. We recommend planting grafted chestnuts, as they start fruiting earlier (in the 2nd to 3rd year) and provide guaranteed quality.

With an intensive planting scheme (distance 4 - 8 m), 17-50 trees per hectare are required. With extensive planting, it is also possible to choose wide planting distances of 9 - 12 m.

The chestnut flowers from June to July and the fruit can be harvested from late September to early November. Good pollination is very important for high yields. In the case of the chestnut, this is done by insects. Chestnut culture requires cross-pollination with another suitable variety. It is therefore advisable to work with two varieties for larger plantations; self-fertile varieties can be used for smaller plantations or single trees.

Yield:

Yields can vary greatly between 1000-7000 kg/ha depending on the type of cultivation. Harvesting is done manually or with special machines.

New hybrid varieties are developed based on the four major families of European, Chinese, Japanese and American chestnuts.

<span>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@roby54?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Roberto Patti</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/chestnut?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_conte

Requirement:

Chestnuts have many uses. It is used in the culinary, cosmetic industry, in folk medicine and for obtaining excellent wood. It also finds interesting applications in the wine and leather industries.

Available varieties

French Sweet chestnut varieties:

MARIGOULE - This chestnut variety is a hybrid crossed between the European and Japanese chestnut trees. Marigoule prefers soils that are rich in organic matter, slightly acidic, fresh, rich, deep and well-drained. The location should also be nice and sunny. Limestone is not a parent rock for this variety, and Marigoule does not like excessive humidity. The sweet chestnut tree is grafted onto Castanea sativa. The flowering period is in June and July and gives bees a lot of food with their long catkins. It usually takes 4-5 years after planting the chestnuts before they bear fruit. The nuts ripen in mid to early fall. Harvest time begins at the end of September and ends in October. The size of the nuts is medium to large and the colour is bright brown. The chestnuts have a pleasantly firm and sweetish taste and are easy to peel. Marigoule chestnuts are excellent to eat straight, roasted and with cream or jam. They can be stored very well in a dry place.

This variety is self-pollinating and can also be used as a pollinator variety for most non-self-pollinating chestnut varieties. A pollinator is recommended for higher yields. A recommended planting scheme is to plant every 2 rows with Marigoule, the third row with a pollinator. Because Marigoule is a hybrid variety, it has high blight and cancer resistance.

The tree has a beautiful declining habit and can reach a height of up to 20m after about 20 years of growth. For planting, we recommend a planting scheme of 6-15 m between the trees.

With regard to winter hardiness, the tree is damage-free down to around -26°C. It is also important that this variety does not require pruning.

Hight and growth	Large: 13-20m
Tree form and crown	Upright straight with a wide crown
Flowering	June/July
Self-fertile	Partially self-fertile
Pollination	Good pollinatorvariety
Fruiting	Harvest starts after 4-5 years
Fruit	Medium size
Shell & pericarp	Bright red-brown, thin skin, easy to peel
Kernel	Firm and sweetish
Harvest	End of September until end of October
Winter hardiness	Very hard down to -26°C
Frost susceptibility	Little susceptible
Disease resistance	High blight and cancer resistance
Spacing	6-15m
Storage	Very good when stored in dry conditions
Soil requirements	well-aerated, humus-rich, deep soil, slightly acidic
Site requirements	Sunny, wide open side

MARAVAL - It was selected in 1986 by INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) – the French institution for agricultural research. The hybrid variety Maraval, which is a cross between a European chestnut (Castanea sativa) and a Japanese (Castanea crenata), is medium-yielding and disease-resistant. The tree is upright with moderate habit and medium height. This allows for denser orchards than with other hybrid varieties. The variety is not very demanding on the soil and is suitable for planting up to 600m above sea level. After planting the grafted chestnut tree, it begins to bear fruit in the 4th to 5th year and the yields increase, as the tree ages. The nut is very large, almost 4cm, mahogany coloured and triangular to elliptical in shape. It can be stored well under dry storage condition. Harvesting usually begins in the second week of October. Due to the early sprouting, the variety is somewhat sensitive to late frosts in spring. The peculiarity of the Maraval variety is its ability to produce a large amount of pollen for the chestnut garden. A single tree can provide pollen for trees more than 70 meters away. It is important that the Maraval chestnut variety is also self-pollinating and can therefore also be planted as a single tree. The variety is also known for its resistance to root rot and chestnut blight.

Overview:

Hight and growth	Medium size 11-20m
Tree form and crown	Upright straight with rounded crown
Flowering	June/July
Self-fertile	Self-fertile
Pollination	Perfect pollinator variety
Fruiting	Harveststarts after the 4th year
Fruit	Large - almost 4cm
Shell & pericarp	Mahogany coloured, triangular to elliptical, thin skin, easy to peel
Kernel	Tender and sweet
Harvest	Starting second week of October
Winter hardiness	Good winter hardiness down to -21°C
Frost susceptibility	Slightly susceptible in spring
Disease resistance	Especially resistantto root rot and chestnut blight
Spacing	6-15m
Storage	Good, when stored under dry conditions
Soil requirements	well-aerated, deep soil, pH 5.5-7.0
Site requirements	Sunny, wide open side

BOUCHE DE BETIZAC - French chestnut variety that was bread in 1962 by INRA (National Institute of Agronomic Research). It is a controlled hybrid between Castanea sativa and Castanea crenata. Growth is upright, fast. Fertile, slightly acidic soils without limestone are suitable. It takes about 5-6 years from planting the saplings to start bearing fruit. The size of the nuts is large and the color is light chestnut brown. The variety Bouche de Bétizac" is pollen sterile and needs a pollinator for better yields. The following varieties Belle Epine, Marron de Goujounac, Maraval and Marigoule can be used as pollinators. The variety is resistant to blight and cancer. It is suitable for plantation up to 400 m above sea level.

Hight and growth	Medium size 8 m
Tree form and crown	Upright straight with rounded crown
Flowering	June/July
Self-fertile	Pollen sterile, it needs a pollinator
Fruiting	Harvest starts after the 5th year
Fruit	Large – 40 gr up
Shell & pericarp	Easy to peel, light brown
Kernel	Sweet and aromatic, with a good taste
Harvest	Early September
Winter hardiness	Resistant to low winter temperatures down to -21°C
Frost susceptibility	Sensitive to spring frosts
Disease resistance	Particularly resistant to chestnut blight
Spacing	6-15m
Storage	Shelled nuts will keep in the refrigerator or freezer for one month
Soil requirements	Deep, fertile, well-drained soil without limestone
Site requirements	Sunny, wide open side

Turkish chestnut varieties:

KEMER
This Turkish chestnut variety is particularly suitable for cultivation in higher mountain areas of up to 1500m. Kemer also has a very high resistance to cancer. Harvest of Kemer variety starts in the beginning of October.

ISIKLAR
This self-pollinating famous chestnut variety is very popular in Turkey. Originally Isiklar chestnuts come from Anatolia. The chestnuts are medium-sized and the variety produces high yields on a very constant level. If stored dry, the chestnuts can be stored very well.