Chemjet Tree Injectors Environmentally Friendly Tree Saver
Items Needed
- Wear eye protection and gloves.
- High speed drill (cordless preferable)
- 4.5mm (11/64”) normal steel shank drill bit.
- Select Injectable product.
- Mixing container
- Container to carry loaded injectors (Bucket).
- All Purpose Disinfectant Note: Always spray your drill bit from tree to tree, and any other tools you may use.
How to Use
- Prepare the solution according to manufacturer’s label.
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Determine the number of injections (injectors) needed.
- For Oak Wilt: Place an injector every 75mm (3”) around the trunk.
- For S O D: Place an injector every 125mm (5”) around the trunk.
- For Phytophthora: Place an injector every 200mm (8") around the trunk.
- Drill 4.5mm (11/64”) holes in the trunk between the bark crevices 40mm (1.5") deep on a 45 degree downward angle.
- Draw the solution into the syringe and lock the plunger handle by turning ¼ turn
- Push the injector nozzle firmly into the drill hole and twist clockwise Note: Do not over twist as this may damage the injector end.
- Hold the injector body down with one hand and at the same time twist the plunger handle by ¼ turn to unlock and tap on the end to ensure activated. You should hear a click.
Work your way around the tree, repeating steps 4, 5 and 6, disinfecting the drill bit and end of the injector.
The injectors feed the liquid into the trees' sapwood at a low 23 lbs pressure.
- For injecting Oak Wilt, normal uptake is within 3-5 hours
- For injecting for SOD, uptake is relative fast, 5 to 45 min.
NOTE:
When injecting into trees with deep bark furrows as in oaks it may be necessary to remove some outer bark with a chisel or drill to get a good seal, but aim to inject into the furrows. Use a larger drill to get to the xylem layer if there is very thick bark, pushing the injector onto the external threaded portion.
Injector Maintenance
When the injectors are empty twist the syringes anti-clockwise and pull the syringes from the trees and place them in your container.
- For Oak Wilt: Wash with plain Hot Water 50c + and let stand for 5 or 10 min,… drain and let dry, the pathogen is heat sensitive and 35c destroys it.
- For SOD and other applications rinse in hot water with disinfectants. Put the injector tip into the solution and pulling up and down the plunger a number of times. If you change products, always follow this practice. Allow the injectors to dry.
Spray a silicone lubricant or WD40 down the barrel from the plunger handle. You can also put the injector tip in the lubricant solution and draw it into the barrel once or twice and expel the fluid.
The injectors are now ready for use again
How to inject small diameter trees
Using the spray tube from a can of WD 40 you can make a 2mm od. injection tube - Follow the method shown in the pictures. | |
Fill Injector and fit the tube into the end. | |
Drill a 2mm hole as deep as (20 to 50mm) possible in the tree at working height, push the slant cut end in to the tree ensuring a tight fit. | |
Using some string to support the chemjet, hang the injector with a loose loop. Unlock the injector plunger, the liquid will drip feed into the tree sap flow . The Fluid will take much longer for uptake due to the smaller orifice. |
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I have been asked about application rates - here is what - I can glean from this relevant article about injecting small diameter chestnuts for ink disease http://sipav.org/main/jpp/index.php/jpp/article/view/547/335 The article says - This solution was applied as an injection at 0.77 grams active ingredient per cm stem diameter at 4-5 cm above the soil. This equates to 16.5 mls of phosphite (which has been diluted 5.5 to 1), per cm of stem diameter. |
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