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THE INJECTION OF CHEMICALS INTO CHESTNUT TREES

1920; Wiley; Volume: 7; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/j.1537-2197.1920.tb05558.x

1537-2197

Caroline Rumbold,

Forest Insect Ecology and Management

The rapid spread of the chestnut bark disease caused by Endothia parasitica (Murr.) A. and A. in the eastern part of the United States during the past ten years and the resultant appeals for help from owners of ornamental chestnut trees and of chestnut orchards, reluctant to lose their trees, were the reasons for this experimentation.As a rule the fungous diseases of plants are such that the application *of sprays, crop rotation, fertilizers, and sanitary methods of cultivation prevent or hold them in check.This disease, however, like many others to which trees especially are subject, can not be treated in this way.The cause of the sickness is iu a part which can not be reached by any outside application of medicine, fertilization of the soil will not help, nor will sanitation prevent, at least in many parts of the eastern states.The customary method of keeping such a disease in check has been to cut away and burn the diseased parts or the entire trees.The money value of the individual trees caused discontent with this method.Experiments on tree injection were undertaken as a possible remedy.It was believed that from its nature this treatment could not be applied to forest trees.Only such trees as had a definite commercial or aesthetic individual value would repay the requisite cost and trouble. History of Plant InjectionsThe idea of introducing foreign substances into plants is two centuries old.In 1709 Magnol (cited by Sachs, i) introduced colored solutions into plants in order to find through what channels the sap passed.These first injections were made by placing the cut stems of leaves, twigs, or flowers in the solutions.McNab (2) was the first to put lithium into trees.He used caesium as well.About this time Pfitzer (3) injected salts of thal-^ The Pennsylvania Chestnut Tree Blight Commission was responsible for the starting of this experimental work in