Planting trees that bear nuts and fruit to attract deer is a very effective method to manage land for game, with as much benefit as planting food plots of brassicas and grain crops. While trees may take several years to come into production, they will bear crops annually for 20-50 years or more, without the annual expense of tillage of the soil, or machinery for cultivation and planting. Because of slope, soil type, location, etc, some hunting land may not be able to be planted with food plots, but food plot trees can still be planted with relatively low initial cost and labor, and very low annual cost thereafter, especially once the trees are established after a few years.
The American Chestnut was once the most common tree in the eastern hardwood forest, before it was killed by the chestnut blight. It was the best tree for wildlife - deer, bear, turkey, squirrel, hogs - and produced literally a ton of mast or more per acre! Chestnuts were the favored food in the fall for game, because the sweet tasting nuts were high in carbohydrate and had no bitter tasting tannins. Chestnut fed pork is the sweetest eating pork there is, and in Spain and Portugal, hogs are raised on chestnuts to produce the highly valued delicacy Estramaduran pork. Deer fed on chestnuts tastes like corn fed venison, unlike venison from deer fed on bitter acorns from Red Oaks.
Dunstan Chestnut trees are the best food
plot tree for deer and wildlife.
This new hybrid chestnut has been bred by noted plant breeder Dr.
Robert Dunstan that is disease resistant and bears heavy crops of large, sweet
nuts. Dunstan Chestnuts have been
grown for 30 years all over the US, in Zones 4-9 from Maine to Michigan and Illinois throughout the eastern US, and south to central Florida without any
trees ever dying from the blight. We have deer in our chestnut orchard every night during harvest season (the photos above were taken at our farm).
Dunstan Chestnuts grow faster than oaks, bear sooner than oaks (in only 2-4 years), have wide soil adaptability, have annual bearing (no skipped years like all oak species) and have excellent production - up to 2000+ lbs/acre. They require planting at least 2 trees together, for cross-pollination, but produce best when planted in groves of 10-100 trees (up to 2 acres).
Here is a comparison of chestnuts and popular oaks species used in food plots:
| Dunstan Chestnuts | White Oak
| Sawtooth Oak
|
| Zones | 4-9
| 4-8
| 5-8
|
| Native | Hybrid with native | Yes | from China |
Soil type
| Wide adaptability
| Rich upland
| sand-clay loam
|
Height
| 60-80'
| 80-100'
| 50-60'
|
Spread
| 30-40'
| 30-40'
| 30-40'
|
Growth Rate
| 10-12' Year 3
| 3-4' Year 3
| 4-6' Year 3
|
Years to bear
| 2-4 | 20-50 | 4-6 |
lbs/tree Year 10
| 10-25 | 0 | 10-30 |
lbs/tree Maturity
| 20-100 | 100+ | 20-125 |
Annual Bearing
| Every year
| Every 4-10 years
| Every 2-3 years
|
Nut size
| 25-40/lb | 60-100/lb | 80-150/lb |
| Tannin | None | Low | High |
Protein %
| 10% | 4% | 5% |
Carbohydrate %
| 40% | 10% | 10% |
Fat %
| 2-3% | 10% | 20% |
Chestnuts are clearly superior as a tree for attracting deer and wildlife, and should be part of every deer management program.
For plantings in woods and farms where watering and care is limited, we highly recommend the use of GROW TUBES to help the trees survive transplanting. These tubes have been very successful in helping the tree grow and thrive.
Some
chestnut orchardists lease their farms for deer hunting in the fall. One
grower in Illinois reports income of over $1500.00/week leasing their grove to
hunters. The big bucks love chestnuts!
|
We grow other fruit and nut tree species that are excellent for attracting deer.
Fruit Trees - Native American Persimmons are one of the very best trees - they are like candy to deer. If you have persimmons, deer will seek them out above almost all other trees. Other fruit, such as native crabapples, mulberries, and even blueberries and muscadine grapes, serve as good sources of food and attractants.
Oak Trees - It is also important to plant a mix of white and red oaks, that will extend the time in which trees are providing food for the deer on your property. White oaks, because of their low tannin content, are favored by deer, but they take many years before they start to bear acorns. Red oaks should also be planted, and studies suggest using a 3:1 Red oak to White Oak mixture. For a series of articles on deer habitat management, Click Here.
The Quality Deer Management Association provides a forum for learning about improving your farm for deer habitat, among many other important services.
The Heartland Wildlife Institute produces a number of excellent annual and perennial food plot seed mixes, mineral and nutrient blocks, and nutritionally superior wildlife feeds.
