Bouche de Bétizac is a French chestnut cultivar developed in 1962 by INRA at the station of Malemort-sur-Corrèze near

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 75 ...

. It is a controlled hybrid between

Castanea sativa ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived ...

and

Castanea crenata ''Castanea crenata'', the Japanese chestnut, also known as the Korean chestnut is a species of chestnut native to Japan and Korea. ''Castanea crenata'' exhibits resistance to ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', the fungal pathogen that causes ink diseas ...

(female Bouche rouge × male

CA04). This variety produces large to very large chestnuts. It has very good flavor for a hybrid. With Marigoule, it is the variety currently most cultivated in the French chestnut groves because it is very productive (3 tons per hectare on average). Its fruit is bright, light chestnut-brown quickly turning brown and dark brown.

Culture

The upright tree of moderate height can be planted tightly in chestnut groves (7 m x 7 m), with 200 productive trees per hectare. In addition, its productivity matures quickly. In drip irrigated culture, in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, the cumulative production at the age of 5 to 7 years can be between 21 and 40 kg per tree. "Bouche de Bétizac" is pollen sterile and is pollinated by many varieties such as

Belle Epine (chestnut) ''Dear Prudence'' (french: Belle Épine; ) is a 2010 French drama film and the directorial debut of Rebecca Zlotowski. The film stars Léa Seydoux, Anaïs Demoustier, Agathe Schlenker, Johan Libéreau and Guillaume Gouix. It premiered in the Intern ...

Marron de Goujounac (chestnut) Marron is a name given to two closely related species of crayfish in Western Australia. Formerly considered a single species, it is now recognised as comprising two species, the critically endangered ''Cherax tenuimanus'', and the species that ...

Marron de Chevanceaux (chestnut) Marron is a name given to two closely related species of crayfish in Western Australia. Formerly considered a single species, it is now recognised as comprising two species, the critically endangered ''Cherax tenuimanus'', and the species that ...

and to a lesser degree Bournette (chestnut),

Precoce Migoule The Precoce Migoule is a chestnut hybrid (CA 48), a natural cross between a European chestnut (Castanea sativa) and a Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata). It was discovered by J. Dufrenoy at the orchard of Migoule in Brive-la-Gaillarde. The tree ...

Maraval Maraval is one of the northern suburbs of Trinidad's capital, Port of Spain, a valley in northern Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. It is situated at the bottom of the hills of Paramin and located east of the Diego Martin valley to which it is conn ...

and Marsol. This cultivar is not very susceptible to

chestnut blight The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...

and chestnut gall wasp. However, as an early budding variety it is sensitive to spring frosts. Bouche de Bétizac keeps its leaves into early autumn. The nuts are also hanging on the tree for a long time and vibrators are sometimes used to aid the harvest. In the southwest of France, it is found up to 400m elevation.

References

* "Châtaignes et marrons" - Henri BREISCH - éditeur CTIFL - 1995 * GIB
Morphologic Descriptors
Italian/English, accessed 2017 * Sandra L. AnagnostakisThe Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Statio
CULTIVARS OF CHESTNUT
accessed 2017 Chestnut cultivars Edible nuts and seeds