On 1/6/2019 9:36 AM, Sonny wrote:
On Saturday, January 5, 2019 at 8:54:17 AM UTC-6, dpb wrote:
Did the Willis people
give you any indication of where there root stock is coming from and
what they/the providers of same have done to promote resistance? Their
web site is entirely mum on the subject only talking of the climate
adaptability aspects.


I didn't ask them where their stock came from. They assured me their stock was the real thing and not hybridized. This doesn't mean it's not genetically altered, though. I'll call them again and ask, specifically, about their stock and its origin. This info may be helpful. If this is the best stock available, then I have no alternative but to accept and use it.

Would be interesting to know something of, indeed...I really don't think
there's anything else one can do now if want to try to grow "the real
McCoy" but hope one's location doesn't have a history of the fungus in
the area combined with, hopefully, stock that has been derived from one
of the selection for resistance programs such as what Gary was involved
in that are at least somewhat more resistant than the originals were
with the rarest of exception.

I've not done enough recent reading/research to know if any of the
gene-splicing experiments, etc., have gotten to the stage of there being
any results available commercially or not...

I was just curious as to what the status was/is as your posting
rekindled my interest from Lo! those many years ago wandering the
backwoods and seeing a marvel. Next time we make the trip to see the
kids back that direction I think I'll try to make a side trip if I can
find anybody at VPI that would be willing to share what the status of
those specimens is 40 years later.

When we made the move from VA to TN, the purchased house wasn't ready
for a month or so so we "camped out" in the tourist cabins up at the
Norris State Park at Norris Dam ...the first month was still in August
while the park programs were still operating and the kids got to know
the young man who was the summer naturalist on staff very well. He took
us on a couple of far off-the-beaten track hikes; one of which went back
into one of the very few remaining areas of virgin timber...there were a
few still-standing chestnuts, but none of tremendous size; those had all
fallen but there were some logs half-buried butts of which were
mid-chest high; easily 5+-ft diam.

Also beech, birch, poplars of awe-inspiring sizes...the existence of
these areas was/is pretty-much kept under wraps for the same reason Gary
didn't let anybody know where his specimens were--insufficient resources
to be able to adequately guard them if were known to general public.

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