Reproductive Biology of Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollissima Blume)

Summary In Chinese Chestnut the reproductive biology is of great importance for nut development and production. In commercial chestnut growing the main problem is the high percentage of empty cupulae or nuts, resulting in not satisfactory yields. About the causes of this phenomenon, which has to be seen in the reproductive processes, not much is known. To elucidate this problem, investigations on the fertization biology in the early ripening cultivar ‘Zaodali’ and to some extent in the late ripening ‘Jiujiazhong’ and different pollinizers were undertaken in two experimental orchards in the province Yunnan, South China.