Landscape and Turf Maintenance
This photo shows that damage that can be done from improper
tree injection.
18 Landscape and Irrigation November/December 2012
with a 3-gallon manual pump tank
when such high volumes are not
required.
As a general rule, research has
shown micro-injection is most effective for insecticides, miticides
and antibiotics, while macroinfusion has been shown most
effective for fungicides and micronutrient supplements such as
iron and manganese.
You may notice that every injection device manufacturer seems to
carry a full suite of injection treatments — insecticides, fungicides,
nutrients, and so on. As stated earlier, there are no "silver bullets" in
tree injection, so don't think about
getting into the tree injection business by thinking "what device do I
need that can do it all?" None of
them can do it all. If you have any
doubts about the results of a treatment recommendation, do not hesitate to request research data
backing the claim.
Our tree care company in Minnesota treats roughly 4,500 trees
each year via injection, and we are
nearly evenly split between microand macro-infusion. It's not about
which device makes the most sense,
it is about what the research shows
is the best option for treating the
tree. Sometimes it is microinjection, sometimes it is macroinjection, sometimes it is soil
applications, sometimes it is spray
treatments, and sometimes the tree
needs to be removed.
Tree injection is a valuable tool in
the toolbox, but it is just that — another tool. Drinking the Kool-Aid
served by injection device makers
may be just as dangerous as drinking
Leonardo da Vinci's cider.
LI
Brandon Gallagher Watson is
director of communications at Rainbow
Treecare Scientific Advancements, and is
an ISA Certified Arborist (#MN4086A).
www.landscapeirrigation.com
