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There is no way to ensure that your tree will not have an insect or disease problem in its life. There may always be a little insect feeding or foliar disease, this is healthy and normal. Do not try to control every leaf gall or chewing insect that you see, over use of chemicals can be bad for you and your tree.
How to Keep Your Tree Disease and Insect Free
Most insects and diseases attack stressed trees. While there is no way to keep all diseases and insects away from your plants, here are a few tips to help maintain healthy, stress free trees:
Keep Your Trees Watered
Watering trees when there is not enough 02/14/2008
to and through the trees in water, via xylem and phloem. But, do not over-water your tree. Too much water can drown the root system and cause a tree to decline. WATERING RECOMMENDATIONS
Put Mulch Down Under Your Trees
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Mulch helps to retain moisture around you tree in droughty times.
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Mulch helps prevent other plants from growing around your tree. Other (plants even flowers) can compete with your tree for water and nutrients.
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Mulch protects your tree from lawnmowers and weed-whackers than can damage the bark of your tree. Exposed wood can lead to insect and disease infestations, because the protective bark is gone. MULCHING RECOMMENDATIONS
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Avoid too much mulch, and mulch piled directly against the trunk, this can cause root or crown rot by fostering an environment suitable for rot causing fungi.
Keep Construction and Heavy Traffic Away From Your Trees.
Construction that uses heavy machinery can cause soil compaction. This increases the density of the soil making it hard for the roots to grow. Soil compaction will subsequently weaken your tree by lowering the amount of nutrients it can take up from the soil. This will in affect smother your roots, and cause the tree to decline.
Do Not Remove Too Much Foliage When Pruning
You should remove no more than one third of the living crown when pruning in one year. If you need to remove more than that spread the pruning out over a couple of years. Also, do not remove foliage from newly planted trees (unless the limbs are broken). Newly planted trees need all the leaves they have to produce energy for the tree. Follow correct pruning guidelines to ensure that your pruning technique is the best for your trees.
Do Not Top Your Trees
Not only does it look bad, the large open wounds are great entry locations for diseases and insects. The new growth that is formed by this pruning method is weak and can break off easily, which can be a hazard as the tree grows.
What to do if you see an insect or disease infestation.
If you see a disease or insect problem starting- prune out the infected branch and dispose of it. This is the best method for control for the host trees and its neighbors. If you are unable to do this yourself, hire a certified arborist that can do it for you.
If the problem is too far along for a simple prune out there are other tactics you can use. But before you start spraying your plants with pesticide find out exactly what the problem is.
You can do this by:
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Contacting a certified arborist or pest specialist.
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Bringing a sample to your local extension office or home and garden center, they may be able to identify it.
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Contacting the Forest Resources Extension at 612-624-3020.
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Sending a sample to the University of Minnesota Plant Disease Clinic.
Call 612-625-1275 for information
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If you decide to spray your trees with a pesticide keep these tips in mind:
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There are other alternative to chemicals, such as bacteria and fungi that feed on the infesting species, that can help you get rid of your pest.
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Use the chemical that was recommended to you. Different chemicals work on different types of insects/diseases, using the wrong one may have no effect in your infestation problem, and be a waste of your time and money.
Follow the directions on the label and read all safety precautions, for your own health, and the health of your trees. Applying too much may cause damage to the tree or other living things that were not targeted by the pesticide.
Other factors besides insects and disease that can harm your trees (click on picture to enlarge).
Drought Injury- Make sure that your trees are getting enough water, especially in droughty seasons.
Construction Damage- Keep construction and other soil compacting factors away from your trees.
Herbicide Injury- Many herbicides that are applied under established trees can cause damage to the foliage of the tree.
Air pollution/Heat Stress- Air pollution can cause discoloration of foliage, often a yellow margin around the leaf.
Flooding Injury- If there is permanent ponding around you tree, its roots may drown or rot.
Sunscald/Frost Cankers - Wounding of the bark caused by a warming of the trunk, in winter, followed quickly by very cold temperatures.
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