White Memorial (WM) has been the focus of Chestnut Hybrid since Arthur Graves established a planting in 1944. That original plantation was extended by Hans Nienstadt in 1953. This site was a source of F1 pollen from the early 1990s for the ACF, from which great grandchildren (B3s) are now in Meadowview. There are also other more recent plantings at WM reinforcing the continuity between the WM Conservation Center and Chestnut restoration efforts.
It seems natural that White Memorial would be considered as a location for cultivating local backcross material, and performing open intercross and selection. Sara Fitzsimmons, the ACF Tree Breeding Coordinator (located at Penn State Univ.), suggested she could visit the site in person, and provide technical assistance in the form of a formal site evaluation. With Sara visiting Connecticut, and with extra time, her services were offered to members who'd expressed an interest in plantations. The schedule quickly filled with planned visits to Woodbridge and Salem, in addition to White Memorial. First Stop of the day – White Memorial
We converged at the Sawmill Field site (just south of the observatory ) August 30th, at 9:30am. This open field site contains the 1995 and 1997 plantings and has room for considerable expansion. Site conditions indicated some deer and rodent damage. Sara pointed out that the presence of “sensitive fern” – Onoclea sensibilis in the lower fields or eastern section indicated poorly drained soils ? hardly optimum for Chestnut cultivation. These issues would need to be mitigated before committing to planting the expected production of Enfield nuts in this area.
from left; Rod Longley, Charles Dobos , Sara Fitzsimmon, Lukas Hyder, Keith Cudworth, Gayle Kida, Paul Wagner.
The WM Executive Director, Keith Cudworth joined us and discussed options for expanded plantings. He was very receptive, indicating that expansion of the operation was very much in-line with White Memorial's goals. He saw “no reason” a fence proposal for deer protection would be rejected, if submitted to the WM Board of Directors. Keith and Sara “paced out” where an enclosure could go, capturing corner coordinates on GPS (see above map). We would probably concentrate our efforts towards the higher land in the west where the older of the planting was first located and to the north towards the bluebird houses. The final mapped out area, while smaller than we had hoped, could provide for a planting of 3-4 Chestnut lines depending on preservation of existing plantings.
GPS built map of area at White Memorial
Next stop, the 60 year old site near the intersection of Route 63 & Rt 61. This is the site (discussed in the preamble) that Graves and Nienstadt planted in the middle of last century. At 1.4 miles distance (as the pollen blows) from the Sawmill Field planting, ACF scientists feel there is still enough separation to allow success open pollination at the Sawmill field. While overgrown, it's a fascinating collection of hybrid trees showing a wide range of morphology and resistance. There was significant production of nuts even considering the area's severe drought and neglect. We should discuss how this area might be of value, and whether additional maintenance is required.
We also discussed “promotion” of the Chestnut efforts, concluding that permanent site displays provided the best approach to promoting the site We departed at 11:35.
Next Stop ? Woodbridge
We arrived at the agreed to destination, the home of Dr. Philip Arnold at 12:35. Philip and Robert discussed their current 2 mother trees – and plans for developing their plantation. We then walked to the property leased by the Woodbridge Land Trust from the Town of Woodbridge. The entire site is approximately 132 acres and had been the estate of David Fitzgerald, former District Attorney of the City of New Haven. The property has true multi-use including community gardens, walking trails and farm leases. The Land Trust leased property is 350 feet by 350 comprising about 3 acres. Philip has a long history with the specific plot ? he and his brother having worked it as a farm in their youth.
The Woodbridge Land Trust has gone to incredible lengths to acquire and prepare the site for the Chestnut Plantation. Robert and Philip spoke at length about some of their diverse experiences, which included everything from negotiating with the town for the lease, to removing rocks and boulders and remediation of drainage issues. Woodbridge experiences significant deer pressure, and talk moved to experiences with spot control and enclosure fencing. Sara discussed many farming approaches, including: irrigation, nut harvestingstoring, fencing, mulching.
from left; Sara Fitzsimmon, Jim Gage, Dr. Philip Arnold, Dr. Robert Gregg.
Woodbridge has two large American Chestnuts they pollinated this past summer. They've benefited significantly from association with the Massachusetts ACF Chapter. Charlotte Zampini of the MA Chapter actually pollinated their flowers (as she did those on the Enfield trees) with a trainee observer, who will be expected to accomplish the same process in the future. Robert discussed their attempts at getting grants ? and described the pitfalls and benefits. We saw photos of Robert 50 feet up in a bucket truck bagging flowers to protect them from pollination. This would be an impressive feat for anyone, but especially at 87 years of age! Woodbridge is clearly a model of success for all of CT!
Before leaving Woodbridge, Philip gave us a tour of two fruit laden Chinese Chestnuts ? an obvious parent sibling pair – located in his yard. (note: as a result of this visit, Philip is in discussion with Dr. John Carlson of Penn State. John needed fruit from a Chinese Chestnut and its progeny ? and Philip's trees were the perfect match).
Jim Gage representing the Northern CT Land Trust had joined the group, and he expressed awe at the organization, commitment, ambition, confidence and industriousness of the Woodbridge group. Jim is no stranger to American Chestnuts. An active member since the mid 1990s, Jim recently assisted Gayle Kida with the pre-bagging and then pollination of the Enfield Trees, and is working with the Northern CT Land Trust, establishing a plantation on the 56 acre Swan Farm Property in Ellington. Jim felt the trip provided inspiration and developed relationships that would serve as resources for the NCLT when their plantation plans started in earnest. We departed at 2:30.
Next Stop ? Salem
from left; (goat), Robert Schacht, Linda Schroeder, Dr. Linda Bireley, Sara Fitzsimmons, Dr. David Bingham
We met at the property of Dr. David Bingham in Salem at 3:40pm. David provided a tour of the site he proposed for planting. He discussed the other management objectives for the area which include habitat for rodents (owl food) and in general, an herbicide free approach to management. We were fortunate to have Robert Schacht present, a commercial organic gardner and conservationist. Robert described using corn gluten for effective spot weed control … a strong possibility for the plantings. We also discussed plastic net fencing and approaches to mulch. We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using B3F3 seeds directly for planting versus intercrossing from the progeny of a local hybrid backcross.
David Bingham inspecting mud-pack chancre
David then drove us to a nearby property, and showed us an American Chestnut he has been successfully keeping alive with mud packs. Though in a questionably accessible location, it could be successfully pollinated. Due to drought conditions, its flowers did not develop into fruit this year, but it could be a possible pollination target for next year.
One very encouraging event was a sit down discussion (brainstorm) at the end of the day with David and Sara where we discussed a wide range of topics relevant to the CT Chapter and TACF at large. Tired, we departed at 6:10.
Dr. Bingham examines cancre which developed from an applied “mud pack” the previous year
