[dinopello]

Washington Post - Acorn crop is non-existent this year

It's not pretty...

Starving, skinny squirrels eating garbage, inhaling bird feed, greedily demolishing pumpkins. Squirrels boldly scampering into the road. And a lot more calls about squirrel roadkill.

Zombie squirrels!



PO has a very informative Acorn fact sheet and recipe collection.

[Heineken]

This year we (100 miles south of Washington) had the largest crop of acorns I've ever seen.

However, I do think there is something to this news story. Trees are under stress from many things. Zero mast production (as opposed to very low mast production) seems like a sure sign of that stress.

[dinopello]

This year we (100 miles south of Washington) had the largest crop of acorns I've ever seen.

Well, that's a relief ! Be prepared for an influx of starving zombie squirrels

[Alaska]

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 30, 2008; Page A01:

The idea seemed too crazy to Rod Simmons, a measured, careful field botanist. Naturalists in Arlington County couldn't find any acorns. None. No hickory nuts, either. Then he went out to look for himself. He came up with nothing. Nothing crunched underfoot. Nothing hit him on the head.

Then calls started coming in about crazy squirrels. Starving, skinny squirrels eating garbage, inhaling bird feed, greedily demolishing pumpkins. Squirrels boldly scampering into the road. And a lot more calls about squirrel roadkill.

But Simmons really got spooked when he was teaching a class on identifying oak and hickory trees late last month. For 2 1/2 miles, Simmons and other naturalists hiked through Northern Virginia oak and hickory forests. They sifted through leaves on the ground, dug in the dirt and peered into the tree canopies. Nothing.

"I'm used to seeing so many acorns around and out in the field, it's something I just didn't believe," he said. "But this is not just not a good year for oaks. It's a zero year. There's zero production. I've never seen anything like this before."

Washington Post

[WisJim]

I read some articles about this. We have had no shortage of acorns at our place in Western Wisconsin. I suppose this is a regional thing, and is getting blown out of proportion to make some news. I wonder if anyone does a national compilation of data on natural phenomena like this, or if the data is even available.

[oxj]

Red oak wither does exist. Is it a fungus, perhaps? The neighbors' red oaks are disappearing in patches, affecting some areas but not others.

Over time, black walnut trees which were mixed in with the hardwood have disappeared because of their value.

Perhaps without the antifungal properties of the black walnuts, fungi may continue their killing. While acorns are still available, I am trying to propagate them and plant oaks mixed with occasional black walnuts. In thirty years we'll see how this works out.

[kpeavey]

It is not possible to walk barefoot in my driveway for all the acorns. You will die, we're talking graveyard dead there are so many acorns. If I had to live on acorns, I'd be fat and happy for years just on whats in the driveway and stuck around the windshield wipers. Had to shovel out the mailman.

I have water oaks, more of a weed than an oak tree.

Around 75 years ago the Eastern US was covered with American Chestnut trees. A blight came through which virtually wiped out the population. They are just now starting to make a comeback after decades of effort to repopulate the species. That a blight or disease could wipe out acorn production is not without precedent.

[copious.abundance]

IIRC there was also a massive failure of the eastern US acorn crop in 1969(???). Squirrels were observed swimming across the Hudson River in a desperate attempt to find acorns.

[rdsaltpower]

Sounds local. here in Wv we have plenty of hickory nuts. Had to clean out my drainage ditch last week because they were clogging it w/ hulls and nuts. Sounds like hype.

[Umber]

Plenty of acorns and hickory nuts here in north central Alabama this year.

Umber

[Tanada]

Plenty of Acorns and Hickory nuts in MI, but the damable emerald ash borer is still devestating our ash tree population and pretty soon we won't have any left to speak of.

LINK

[FoolYap]

Around 75 years ago the Eastern US was covered with American Chestnut trees. A blight came through which virtually wiped out the population. They are just now starting to make a comeback after decades of effort to repopulate the species.

So far as I know, chestnut is not yet coming back. The American Chestnut Foundation and others are still working on hybrids between American and Chinese species that are close enough to the original American in form, but with enough Chinese resistance to the blight. I don't believe that major plant-outs of any of the candidate crossing has happened yet. (Still watching for when they offer for sale whatever candidate crossing they recommend for plant-outs.)

OTOH, now that the Asian Longhorn beetle is getting footholds in this country (just discovered 20 miles south of me this year ), we have bigger worries...

--Steve

[rattleshirt]

For American Chestnut Hybrids I order from Oikos Treecrops. The have several different types and many other things too.