European chesnut

The European chestnut (Castanea sativa, Figure 1) belongs to the Fagaceae family, like oak (Quercus spp.) and beech (Fagus spp.). Castanea is the old name for oak and sativa means "cultivated".

Its range extends from southern Europe to North-Western Europe and eastwards into western Asia, with an altitudinal range of 200 to 1,800 m.

Chestnut is a plastic species but relatively demanding in terms of ecology.

The main constraints concern water supply (drought and waterlogging), nutritional inputs and the effects of extreme temperatures.

In France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland chestnut cultivation is very old, C. sativa has been widely distributed and this multipurpose species is cultivated both for its wood and for its fruit, the chestnut.

Asian chestnut species (C. crenata and C. mollissima) and their interspecific hybrids are resistant to ink. In more recent orchards, these hybrids are used as rootstocks, because of their resistance to ink, or as fruiting varieties, to improve fruit production.