A low‐pressure trunk injection system for the chemotherapy of clove trees

Abstract

In Zanzibar, East Africa, trunk injection techniques are being used to investigate the aetiology of sudden-death disease of clove trees, Eugenia caryophyllus (Sprengel) Bullock and Harrison. A low-pressure trunk injection system is described which has proved itself capable of frequently injecting 5 / of solution into trees in less than 1 h. Uptake rates for injections using two different designs of injection nozzle and different chemical solutions are presented and compared.

Tetracycline Therapy of Clove Trees affected by Sudden Death Disease in Zanzibar

“…The trees selected for treatment were (with two exceptions [see below]), pressure injected at 1.5-4.5 kg/cm^ into the bottom metre of the trunk, using a hand-pumped pneumatic sprayer with 4 nozzles as reported by MARTIN and DABEK (1985), on 8 separate occasions; viz. May 1983, July 1983, August 1983, November 1983, May/June 1984, November 1984, March 1985and August 1985 At the beginning of the experiment, SD incidence as measured by the rate of appearance of trees with fresh symptoms was high; subsequently, it declined and necessitated the experiment to be continued for a longer period (35 months) than originally anticipated.…”