On June 11, CT-TACF met at White Memorial Foundation in Litchfield. Dr. Philip Arnold, Dr. Robert Gregg and Town Selectman Joe Callistro, active also in the Woodbridge Land Trust, shared their plans to work with Dr. Charlotte Zampini of MATACF to pollinate two 8-9 inch DBH, 40 foot tall trees in Woodbridge. Last summer I found two flowering chestnuts plus a larger “third tree”(healthier but not in bloom) in Enfield, and presented a poster picturing them. During the break, TACF President and CEO Marshal Case asked me which Enfield tree might have potential for pollination. I replied the nine inch DBH “third tree” might bloom well this year, but the other two were now in poor condition.
Gayle Kida of CT-TACF, at left, and
Dr. Charlotte Zampini of MA-TACF
discuss pollen containers before the
Enfield chestnut pollination.
(Photo courtesy of Jim Gage)
Fortunately, the owners of this Enfield tree, Paul and Cheryl Pavlakis, were willing to help, graciously allowing me access for photos and notes. It became apparent their tree would put on quite a show of catkins, but from the ground I couldn?t see if many female flowers were forming. After reading pages from TACF national and state chapter websites describing pollination procedures, I reached out to the TACF network for guidance. I wanted to learn as much as possible about the procedures and time them correctly. MA-TACF members Charlotte Zampini, Yvonne Federowicz, Kathy Desjarden and Rufin Van Bossuyt offered practical tips about supplies and methods. Dr. Fred Hebard reviewed my telephoto pictures of the flowers and gave detailed answers to questions. Blair Carbaugh of PA-TACF and TACF Tree Breeding Coordinator Sara Fitzsimmons shared advice. Daphne and Marshal at Vermont headquarters sent encouragement plus some leftover Shaftsbury pollination bags! Jim Gage, also a member of the Northern Connecticut Land Trust, volunteered to help on site. Pre-bagging was performed on the Enfield tree on a showery June 28 (yes, plenty of females up there); in late June in Woodbridge, eighty-seven year old Dr. Bob Gregg went up in the bucket with arborist Ken Fries and bagged the flowers on the Callistro tree. On July 8 both Woodbridge and Enfield trees were pollinated despite threats of heavy rain from remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy.
Dave Goodson and Robert Allen of Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P)/Northeast Utilities provided the key to getting the Enfield pollination effort “off the ground” by scheduling the Davey Tree Experts bucket truck crew of Al Vancour, Bill Murray and Les Richardson. Thank you Northeast Utilities for a very generous donation! CT-TACF also thanks Ken Fries, who arranged for the bucket truck to access the Gregg and Callistro trees.
We greatly appreciate the dedication of Dr. Charlotte Zampini, who drove in from eastern MA for the 7:30 a.m. Enfield pollination, then went directly to Woodbridge to work on their trees. Thirty-five bags were pollinated on the Enfield tree, plus sixty bags total on the two Woodbridge trees, a possible harvest of 150 – 175 fertile nuts. The resulting CT generation will be third backcrosses. Our chapter awaits the nut harvest and the first seedlings combining Connecticut and TACF blight-resistant chestnut genes. We appreciate the contributions of each individual who made this possible.
By Gayle Kida
CT-TACF Board Member
