Biology:Marsol (chestnut)
Marsol is a natural chestnut hybrid, a cross between a European chestnut (Castanea sativa) and Japanese (Castanea crenata)(CA 07). INRA produced this variety from Lalevade-d'Ardèche. It is mainly used as a rootstock because of its good graft compatibility with many varieties. As a rootstock, it is more vigorous than Maraval (equal to Bouche de Betizac or Comballe).
| Compatible to scions from | Incompatible to scions from |
|---|---|
| Bouche de Betizac | Marigoule |
| Bournette | Marron de Goujounac |
| Precoce Migoule | Verdale Delsol |
| Belle epine | |
| Bouche rouge | |
| Comballe | |
| Insidina | |
| Impériale | |
| Dorée de Lyon | |
| Fertil | |
| Marron d'Olargues |
Trees are resistant to rust and roots are resistant to ink disease. Marsol is the most sensitive variety to Dryocosmus kuriphilus - the chestnut gall wasp.
Trees are of medium height with a long trunk and branches higher up. Early bud breaks makes the shoot development sensitive to spring frosts. The male catkins flower from June 19 - 30 June followed by female flowers June 27 - July 8. The male catkins are pollen sterile.
Nut production of grafted trees is medium with higher production on seedling trees. Nut production starts at four to five years. The triangular nuts are mid season ripening - shiny red mahogany in color. They keep and peel well. The nuts can be used fresh or for processing. The nut taste is described as lower quality. Occurrence of double embryos (pericarp splitting) is less than 5%.
Vegetative multiplication is quite easy.
References
- "Châtaignes et marrons" - Henri BREISCH - editor CTIFL - 1995
- SWEET CHESTNUT (Castanea)[1]
- Osterc, G; Phenolic content in cuttings of two clones of hybrid chestnut (Castanea crenata×Castanea sativa) in the first days after cutting severance, Journal Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B — Soil & Plant Science Volume 58, 2008 - Issue 2 [2]
- Craddock, J.H. and Bassi, G. (1999) Effect of clonally propagated interspecific hybrid chestnut rootstocks on short-term graft incompatibility with four cultivars of Italian "Marrone". In: Salesses, G. (ed.) Proc. 2nd International Chestnut Symposium, Bordeaux, France. Acta Horticulturae 494: 207-121 [3]
- C.Sartor; Impact of the Asian wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Yasumatsu) on cultivated chestnut: Yield loss and cultivar susceptibility; Scientia Horticulturae; Volume 197, 14 December 2015, Pages 454-460 [4]
- Hennion, B.; Chestnut production in France: review, perspectives.; Acta Horticulturae 2010 No.866 pp.493-497 ref.3 [5]
- Pereira-Lorenzo S. et al. (2012) Chestnut. In: Badenes M., Byrne D. (eds) Fruit Breeding. Handbook of Plant Breeding, vol 8. Springer, Boston, MA [6]
- Andrea Vannini and Anna Maria Vettraino; Ink disease in chestnuts: impact on the European chestnut; Forest Snow and Landscape Research 76, 3: 345–350 (2001)
- Sandra L. Anagnostakis, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station CULTIVARS OF CHESTNUT, 2013, accessed 2017
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