Tree Wound Responses Following Systemic Insecticide Trunk Injection Treatments in Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) as Determined by Destructive Autopsy

Abstract

Trunk injection of systemic insecticides or fungicides is an effective way to manage destructive insects or diseases of trees, but many arborists are still reluctant to inject trees because of the potential for infection by pathogens, structural damage, or adverse effects on tree health. The authors of the following study examined wound responses of green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) for two years following trunk injection, by sectioning tree trunks to look for evidence of infection associated with injection sites, and by collecting data on annual radial growth and rate of closure around injection sites. All healthy trees successfully compartmentalized injection wounds without any signs of infection, decay, or structural damage. Wound closure was positively correlated with the tree health as measured by annual radial growth.

Trunk Injection as a Tool to Deliver Plant Protection Materials—An Overview of Basic Principles and Practical Considerations

“…More recent mechanism-based experiments explored wounding and decay [22,23], movement of water and other compounds [24,25], and the use of more effective or less injurious injection methods [26,27]. In 2015, the Tree Care Industry Association held a series of symposia on tree injection, and the following year the International Society of Arboriculture published the Tree Injection Best Management Practices Guide.…”

Avermectin Trunk Injections: A Promising Approach for Managing the Walnut Husk Fly (Rhagoletis completa)

“…Due to the risks to the health of the trunk [32,61] and the necessity of repeating the treatment every year, it is recommended to develop a non-invasive method that requires no drilling. This could be a form of needle-based injection [28] or a basal bark spray treatment with a special adjuvant system [62][63][64][65][66].…”

Vegetative Endotherapy—Advances, Perspectives, and Challenges

“…Leaks can occur depending on the application method if a lot of pressure or large application volume is exerted. Therefore, creating tests to determine thresholds for these criteria, such as pressure and strength during the application, depth, and size of the hole on a given crop to prevent leaks, waste, or cracks in the trunk, is essential [15,27,[43][44][45]. (iii) Injection methods: The injection method uses applicators and can be divided into two categories:…”

“…[29,[115][116][117] White ash Fraxinus americana [11,27] Common ash Fraxinus excelsior [21][22][23]118] Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. [11,27,44,119] Poplar and Ficus Populus, Ficus [115] Coast live oak Quercus agrifolia [113] Cork oak Quercus suber L. [42] OakEnglish oakPlane treesLondon plane Quercus spp. ; Quercus robur; Platanus spp.…”