Chestnut cultivars on the Canary Islands
Santiago Pereira-Lorenzo1, Domingo Rios2, Javier González-Pérez3, Fátima Cubas2, Antonio Perdomo2, C. Calzadilla2and A. M. Ramos-Cabrer1
1 Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Escola Politécnica Superior, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain. spereira@lugo.usc.es
2 Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, Área de Agricultura, Pza. España, 1, 38001 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
3 Agencia de Extensión Agraria San Andrés y Sauces, 38720 La Palma, Spain
Abstract
Chestnut (Castanea sativaMill.) is a species used in Spain for nut and timber production. On the Canary Islands grafted chestnuts are planted in volcanic areas, where they show very good adap- tation. On the four islands, Tenerife, La Palma, El Hierro and Gran Canaria, the local farmers identified 38 cultivars, of which 33 are different from the cultivars of the Iberian Peninsula. The inventory of Spanish cultivars now contains 212 cultivars, including these cultivars, with 23 cultivars being cultivated in two or more regions. Some of the cultivars from the Canary Islands, e.g. Arafero, produce large nuts. All the cultivars can be classified as marron type. Preliminary results with isoenzymes show an interesting variability between cultivars and also important intra-cultivar variability, as was found previously on the Iberian Peninsula.
Keywords: Castanea sativa, isozyme, morphological traits, Spain
1 Introduction
Chestnut (Castanea sativaMill.) is a species used in Spain for nut and timber production. In the past chestnut cultivation has been promoted in Asturias, Galicia, Castilla-León, Extremadura, Andalucía, País-Vasco, Navarra, Cataluña and the Canary Islands. In most Spanish areas chestnut is a secondary crop. However, nut and timber production is eco - nomically important in hilly areas where chestnut is naturalized or cultivated. In chestnut cultivation, autochthonous cultivars adapted to local conditions are preferred over seedlings coming from cultivars.
In 1949 ELORRIETAreported the presence of chestnut on the Canary Islands. This was no surprise as chestnut is an important species on the Azores and Madeira, two other Atlantic archipelagos. In June 2000, the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife asked the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela to study the chestnut culture on the Canary Islands. The aim of our research project was to identify the areas where chestnut is present on Tenerife Island and to define whether chestnut is cultivated or naturalized. Cultivation of chestnut, as of other crops, means grafting of selected cultivars over rootstocks, plantation at regular distances, pruning, and management of the ground.
2 Material and methods
Locating trees and data collection
In July 2001, chestnut trees were located in the chestnut-growing areas described by ELORRIETA (1949) on the Islands of Palma (with the collaboration of the Cabildo Insular de La Palma), Gran Canaria and El Hierro. Chestnut growers were asked to identify representative trees of each cultivar. For each tree we recorded the altitude with an altimeter and the solar orientation of the planting site with a compass. Each tree of a specific cultivar was marked for later sampling (PEREIRA-LORENZOet al.2001). In autumn, when the nuts began to fall, a sample of one kg with burrs was collected from the marked trees. The harvest time was recorded.
Morphological characters
The morphological characters used have been described previously by PEREIRA-LORENZOet al.
(1996a and 1997). The following characteristics were studied for 40 nuts: 1) nuts per kg, 2) % nuts with the pericarp split, 3) % of divided nuts, 4) % nuts with infestation with Balaninus elephans, 5) % nuts with infestation with Laspeyresia splendana, 6) % nuts with infection with Sclerotinia pseudotuberosa, 7) % nuts with infection with Phoma endogena. Ten nuts served to studied the following traits: 1) weight of the central nut in g, 2) weight of the lateral nuts, and 3) shape index (defined as length/width x 100 in lateral nuts). The mean was calculated for each cultivar.
Electrophoresis and isoenzyme staining
Three isoenzyme systems were studied out of the 10 that are being used to study Spanish chestnut cultivars (ARAVANOPOULOS et al. 1993 and PEREIRA-LORENZO et al. 1996b): phosphoglu - coisomerase (PGI; EC 5.3.1.9), malate dehydrogenase (MDH; EC 1.1.1.37), and diaphorase (DIA; EC 1.6.4.3). Extracts were prepared from leaves or buds as described by ALETAet al.
(1990). For MDH and PGI, starch gel electrophoresis was performed and the alleles recorded as described by PEREIRA-LORENZOet al.(1996b), and for DIA as described by ARAVANOPOULOS et al.(1993). The staining procedures were according to VALLEJOS(1983).
3 Results and discussion
We have found chestnut orchards grafted with local cultivars on Tenerife, La Palma, El Hierro and Gran Canaria. Surprisingly, all the chestnut areas on Tenerife were cultivated.
There are two important areas for chestnut production. The main area is located between La Orotava to La Esperanza, in the more humid part facing North. The other area is near Arafo, in a very dry and windy region facing South (Fig. 1). The former orchards are quite similar to those in some parts of the Iberian Peninsula such as Sierra de Ronda, Málaga.
They consist of seedlings that are grafted with two sticks at 0.5 m above ground. The orchards on the southern face are located on volcanic soils and consist of grafted chestnuts in the form of large bushes with branches hanging over the ground. Local seedlings originat- ing from the cultivars are used as rootstocks. The sanitary status of the orchards on Tenerife Island, as well as on the other three islands, is very good and chestnut blight and ink disease are not present. Chestnut is cultivated from 800 to 1000 m on the northern face and from 1000 to 1100 m on the southern face (Table 1), mostly at higher altitudes than on the Iberian Peninsula (PEREIRA-LORENZOet al.2001). The orchards are mainly facing North, East or West, and less frequently South as on the Iberian Peninsula. On Tenerife Island growers could identify 18 cultivars (Table 1). The cultivar, Mulata, was the most common. Only the cultivars, Redondo and Temprano, are also reported from the Iberian Peninsula where Redondo is present in Galicia and Temprano in Andalucía and Extremadura (PEREIRA- LORENZO et al. 2001). In 2000, the ripening time for the Tenerife cultivars was from 9 October to 11 November, which is quite similar to the harvesting period on the Iberian Peninsula (PEREIRA-LORENZOet al.2001).
On La Palma Island, chestnuts are found mainly as grafted trees in orchards that are distributed over the whole island (Fig. 2), although in some areas it can also be found naturalized. As on Tenerife Island, local seedlings are used as rootstock. Grafted chestnuts are used in volcanic areas as a colonizing species and it is surprising to find plantations that provide regular production. A similar situation is found at Arafo on Tenerife Island, but there the volcanoes are older and the ground has been cultivated. Fourteen cultivars were found on La Palma (Table 2). The most frequent cultivar found was Jabudo. All cultivars are unique, except for Manso, that was also noticed on Tenerife Island. Harvesting time and the range of cultivation (400 and 1200 m above sea level) were similar to those on Tenerife Island.
Parque Nacional del Teide
Arafo La Orotava Puerto de la Cruz
La Victoria La Mantanza
Ravelo
La Esperanza
1 Arafero 2 Corujero 3 Castagrande 4 Del haya 5 De Pata 6 De Sala 7 Donosa 8 Grande 9 Manso
10 Matancero 11 Mollar 12 Mulato 13 Pico Claro 14 Picudo 15 Piñero 16 Polegre 17 Redondo 18 Temprano
Santa Cruz de Tenerife N
5 km 0
5 km
1 10 7 9
6 5
4 3
2
11 12
13 14
15 16
17
18
12 12
17 3 17
9 12 12
Table 1. Cultivars localized on Tenerife Island. * np: no predominant aspect.
Cultivars Number of trees Range of Aspect Harvesting period analyzed altitudes (m a.s.l.)
Arafero 1 800 S 31 Oct
Castagrande 3 800–930 N, W 31 Oct
Corujero 1 800 – –
De Pata 1 930 N 31 Oct
De Sala 3 930–1100 N, E 11–31 Oct
Del Haya 2 850 W 09 Nov
Donosa 1 800 S 31 Oct
Grande 1 1000 W 09 Nov
Manso 3 800–1100 E, W 11–31 Nov
Matancero 1 900 W 09 Nov
Mollar 1 900 np* 24 Oct
Mulato 7 800–1100 N, S, E, W 31 Oct
Pico Claro 2 800 S 31 Oct
Picudo 1 820 W 03 Nov
Piñero 1 900 – –
Polegre 1 920 W 09 Nov
Redondo 3 800–930 N, W 9–31 Oct
Temprano 1 800 – –
On Gran Canaria Island, grafted chestnuts are widespread on the slopes of the northern face between 800 and 1600 m above sea level.However, the old growers could not identify any of the cultivars that were grafted by their grandparents. That may mean the loss of the local cultivars of the Gran Canaria Island like Pelona and Macho in Camaretas (1300 m), Pelón and Valbudas in Teror (859 m) and Fontanales (1150 m). The lack of knowledge on the Gran Canaria may be explained by changes in the economy: Gran Canaria was the first of the islands where tourism changed the economic basis from agricultural to services in tourism. However, chestnuts are still used in the local kitchen and chestnut timber is used for baskets to carry fish or for wine barrels.
Fig. 1. Distribution of chestnut cultivars on Tenerife (Canary Islands).
On the El Hierro Island, chestnut can only be cultivated in small areas. Its cultivation was linked to wine preservation and transportation. We could find few orchards of grafted chest- nut on the eastern and north-western slopes between 600 and 1000 m above sea level. Local growers identified three cultivars: Mollar, Cerrado and De Armentina.
Based on this survey, 38 chestnut cultivars were identified on the Canary Islands. Five of the cultivars are also found on the Iberian Peninsula: Blanco, Negro, Pelona, Redondo and Temprana. 33 new cultivars can be added to the list of Spanish cultivars (PEREIRA- LORENZOet al.2001).
El Romeral
Barranco de El Agua Hoya Grande
Cueva de Agus Garafia
Liano de la Cuevas
Cabenza de Vaca El Paso
Breña Alta
Santa Cruz de la Palma San Andrés y Sauces
Parque Nacional Caldera de Taburiente N
5 km
0
5 km
1
14 13 12
11 10
9 87 6
5
4
3
2
3 11
2 11 3
1 Blanco 2 Chocho 3 Jabudo 4 Lisio 5 Macho 6 Manso 7 Menudo
8 Negro 9 Picuda 10 Peludo 11 Peloño 12 Pelon 13 Piquenta 14 Tablon
Table 2. Chestnut cultivars identified on La Palma Island.
Cultivars Number of trees Range of Aspect Harvesting time analysed altitudes (m a.s.l.)
Blanco 1 400 E 3 Nov
Chocho 3 400 E 3 Nov
Jabudo 4 400–980 E, W 3–6 Nov
Macho 1 400 E 3 Nov
Manso 1 1100 N 5–10 Nov
Menudo 1 400 E
Negro 1 400 E
Pelona 1 1100 N 5–10 Nov
Peloño 3 400–980 W, E 18–25 Oct
Peludo 1 1000 N 5–10 Nov
Picudo 1 400 E 5–10 Nov
Piquenta 1 400 E
Tablón 1 400 E
Lisio 1 1150 W 20 Oct
Fig. 2. Distribution of chestnut cul - tivars on La Palma (Canary Islands).
Quality characteristics
The nut quality of some cultivars from Tenerife is high (Table 3). The nuts of the cultivar, Arafero, weigh 15 g with fewer than 80 nuts per kg. The nuts of the cultivars, Castagrande and Polegre, weigh between 13 and 14 g. All the cultivars had fewer than 12% of divided nuts, and may be classified as marron type (BERGOUGNOUXet al.1978). Nuts from all the cultivars (with the exception of Castagrande and Del Haya) are quite similar in shape. They produce triangular nuts with a shape index smaller than 100. Del Haya has round nuts and Castagrande has wide elliptical nuts. Infestation with insects and diseases were serious in some cultivars, e.g. Polegre, where 40% of the nuts were infested by Laspeyresia sp. and more than 20% infected with Phoma endogena, and Del Haya and Donosa, which were heavily infected with Sclerotinia pseudotuberosa. Fungi and insect infections appear to depend on climatic conditions more than on genetic differences, but further studies are required.
Table 3. Quality parameters for chestnut cultivars found on Tenerife (results from 2000). z Shape index:
lenght/width*100.
Cultivar nuts/kg Opened Divided Balaninus Laspey- Sclero- Phoma Central Lateral Shape nuts nuts (%) resia tinia (%) nut nut index
(%) (%) (%) (%) weight weight in lateral
(g) (g) nutsz
Arafero 72 10 5 0 3 5 8 15 15 92
Castagrande 99 13 6 3 3 19 18 13 14 125
De Pata 101 0 0 0 8 18 5 10 13 87
De Sala 124 5 1 0 0 3 3 10 11 90
Del Haya 155 1 5 9 6 21 8 8 10 101
Donosa 136 18 0 14 9 23 16 9 10 95
Grande 118 0 3 15 5 0 18 9 13 82
Manso 130 20 1 1 4 11 0 8 10 90
Matancero 96 10 11 95
Mollar 102 11 11 94
Mulata 115 15 3 1 8 14 10 9 11 93
Pico Claro 103 0 5 10 8 10 13 10 14 93
Picudo 89 0 5 8 5 18 15 13 13 96
Polegre 80 3 3 20 40 3 20 14 13 81
Redondo 103 0 8 3 3 5 18 10 11 93
Isoenzymes
The preliminary isozyme patterns of the Tenerife cultivars show high inter-cultivar variability (Table 4). This confirms the finding that growers tend to give different names to identical accessions, as in other regions of Spain (PEREIRA-LORENZOet al.1996b). But there is also intra-cultivar variability as in the cultivar, Mulato, that consists of more than one clone.
These findings are quite similar to those found previously on the Iberian Peninsula (PEREIRA-LORENZOet al.1996a and b).
Our long-term goal will be to establish a National Germplasm Bank of the genus Castaneato preserve the variability of Spanish cultivars and to characterise the cultivars in order to select the most interesting ones for nut and/or timber production. Comparisons with other cultivars from the Iberian Peninsula are being made using the same morphological traits and isoenzymes to discover possible synonyms.
Table 4. Allelic variation for three isoenzymes localized on Tenerife Island, preliminary results.
No Cultivar Mdh1110 Mdh2100 Mdh2110 Mdh395 Mdh3100 Pgi90 Pgi92 Pgi100 Dia1100 Dia1110 Dia296 Dia2100
1 Arafero 0.5 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 1
2 Castagrande 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
3 Castagrande 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
4 Corujero 1 1 0 0 1 0.5 0 0.5 1 0 0 1
5 De Pata 1 1 0 0.5 0.5 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
6 De Sala 0 0 1
8 De Sala 0.5 0 0.5
9 Del Haya 1 1 0 0 1 0.5 0 0.5
10 Del Haya 0.5 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 1
12 Donosa 1 1 0 0 1 0.5 0 0.5 1 0 0 1
13 Grande 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
14 Manso 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
15 Manso 0.5 0 0.5
16 Manso 0.5 0 0.5
17 Matancero 0.5 0 0.5
18 Mollar 1 0 0
19 Mulato 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
20 Mulato 1 1 0 0 1 0.5 0 0.5 1 0 0 1
21 Mulato 1 1 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 0.5 1 0 0 1
22 Mulato 0.5 0 0.5
23 Mulato 1 1 0 0 1 0.5 0 0.5
24 Mulato 0.5 0 0.5 1 0 0 1
25 Pico Claro 1 1 0 0 1 0.5 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 1
26 Pico Claro 0.5 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 1
27 Picudo 0.5 0 0.5
28 Piñero 1 0 0 0.5 0.5 0 1
29 Polegre 0 0 1
30 Redondo 0.5 0 0.5
31 Redondo 1 0.5 0.5 0 1 0.5 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 1
32 Redondo 0.5 0 0.5
33 Temprano 1 1 0 0.5 0.5 0 0 1
4 References
ALETA, N.; OLARTE, C.; TRUCO, M.J.; ARUS, P., 1990: Identification of walnut cultivars by isozyme analysis. Acta Hortic. 284: 9–96.
ARAVANOPOULOS, F.A.; ZSUFFA, L.; CHONG, K.X., 1993: The genetic basis of enzymatic variation in Salix exigua. Hereditas 119, 1: 77–88.
BERGOUGNOUX, F.; VERLHAC, A.; BREISCH, H.; CHAPA, J., 1978: Le châtaignier. Paris, INVU- FLEC. 192 pp.
ELORRIETA, J., 1949: El castaño en España. Instituto Forestal de Investigaciones y Experiencias.
Ministerio de Agricultura. Dirección General de Montes, Caza y Pesca Fluvial. Madrid, Ediciones Ares. 303 pp.
PEREIRA-LORENZO, S.; FERNANDEZ-LOPEZ, J.; MORENO-GONZALEZ, J., 1996a: Variability and grouping of Northwestern Spanish Chestnut Cultivars (Castanea sativa), I, Morphological traits. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 121, 2: 183–189.
PEREIRA-LORENZO, S.; FERNANDEZ-LOPEZ, J.; MORENO-GONZALEZ, J. 1996b. Variability and grouping of Northwestern Spanish Chestnut Cultivars, II, Isoenzyme traits. J. Am. Soc. Hortic.
Sci. 121, 2: 190–197.
PEREIRA-LORENZO, S.; FERNANDEZ-LOPEZ, J., 1997: Description of 80 cultivars and 36 clonal selections of chestnut (Castanea sativaMill.) from Northwestern Spain. Fruit Varieties Journal 51, 1: 13–27.
PEREIRA-LORENZO, S.; RAMOS-CABRER, A.M.; DÍAZ-HERNÁNDEZ, B.; ASCASÍBAR-ERRASTI, J.;
SAU, F., 2001: Spanish chestnut cultivars. HortScience 3, 2: 344–347.
VALLEJOS, C.E., 1983: Enzyme activity staining In: TANKSLEY, S.D.; ORTON, T.J. (eds) Isozymes in plant genetics and breeding. Part A. Amsterdam, Elsevier. 459–516.
Accepted 8.4.02
