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PLANT HEALTH CARE TH CARE By Brandon Gallagher Watson Where to Go T Know How to stay current on research and pest protocols Photos courtesy of Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements oday’s arborists have more knowledge available to them than any other time in history. But whether it’s a new climbing technique, an updated pest treatment protocol, or a new piece of application equipment, how does the scholarly tree guy/gal stay abreast of all the latest relevant information? www.WhereTheHeckDoIFindThisAnswer.com The first answer for most folks is the Internet.Many tree ques- tions can be answered these days with a quick Google search.Not sure if chestnut blight has a treatment option? Google “chestnut blight treatment” and you’ll return a plethora of “.edu” and “.com” websites offering info on treatments. Some sites exist to simply disseminate information, others are designed solely to promote and sell a particular option. In general, “.edu” websites are run by universities, and will have solid information on biology of the pest and the host. Images, life cycles, scientific names, biology and history/scope of the problem can all be gleaned from “.edu”sites on well-organized web pages. These sites are often great places to start when you want to learn the basic science of the issue, and they also give a good snapshot of the current scientific understanding of the management recommendations. Broadly speaking, university and extension websites shy away from making specific management recommendations as they never want to appear to be endorsing a commercial product or brand name.The industry joke of university recommendations is “fertilize to increase vigor” for every tree health problem. Sometimes they will recommend a certain active ingredient, which can quickly be Googled to find brand names, but rarely will they provide management specifics such as application rates and timing info. Do be a little careful when obtaining treatment recommendations from these sites as they are not always updated with the most current information. For specific application info you can find labels and MSDS info online for pretty much every product available. Many good tree health care manufacturers have quality websites that provide pest and rate information, and might also have application tutorials on using their products. It should be 18 Arbor Age / April 2011 The Internet is often the first stop for updated tree health information. expected that most commercial websites will have brand position- ing favorable to their product over competitors products, but being able to filter through marketing claims for the facts is a skill all consumers should employ no matter what product or service they are researching. The interactive web Arborist forum websites are a perfect place to ask fellow prac- titioners about their experiences and get recommendations on practices and services that they have tried. Active message board forums can answer everything from “What’s wrong with this maple?” to “How do I hire quality seasonal help?” and are a great place to share photos and stories with tree folks from around the country. Following manufacturers, tree companies, scientists and writers on Facebook and Twitter is another way to stay up on the www.arborage.com