THE QUARTERLY WATERING PLAN There is yet another option for con- servative irrigation that is almost as hands-off as automated strategies. TREEIB is the creator behind the reus- able irrigation bag that delivers a last- ing source of water to mature trees. The large bags are placed around the tree’s drip line which then provide slow, deep drip irrigation that encourages root system expansion. Once placed, the bags are filled with water using a garden hose or even a fire hose. The heavy-duty, reusable 400-gallon bags release water over eight to 22 hours and are then removed from around the tree. The company recommends watering trees four times a year: early spring, late spring, late summer, and autumn. While the system wasn’t originally designed as a water conservation tech- nique, it does save water. According to Martin Tuser, chief re- searcher and business development director for TREEIB, the system encour- ages root growth and increases root biomass, allowing trees to absorb more water and reducing the frequency of watering. Tuser’s tests on drought-stressed trees in the Czech Republic showed that four waterings a year restored tree health in just two to three years. The watering dose was 10 days of transpiration vol- ume per application. Trees showed rapid primary and secondary growth, longer assimilation and improved fruiting. Little research has been published on the water needs of mature trees, he noted, and using the watering bags conserves water compared to the amounts called for in recommenda- tions he found. In Salt Lake City Tuser works alongside his research partner Lynsey Nielson is the lead horticulturist at Red Butte Garden & Arboretum.
The Toro Company has introduced Transpira, a plant sensing technology that measures a tree’s water usage by monitoring sap flow in the xylem to provide data for more informed irrigation decisions.
According to the pair, the general rec- ommendation is to apply 20 gallons of water per inch of caliper once or twice a week, a seasonal volume that Tuser considers “enormous.” He suggested that watering mature trees provides greater environmental benefits with less water than would be required to replace a mature tree with hundreds of small trees. For example, to get the cooling effect of one large tree, a city would have to plant about 600 small trees, which would require 500,000 liters (132,086 gallons) of water a year, compared to 24,000 liters (6,340 gallons) to keep the large tree healthy. Tuser, who presented at the ISA confer- ence in Atlanta, said tree care profes- sionals have been buying the TREEIB bags because they solve the dilemma of how to get customers to properly water large trees. Arborists who buy the bags can rent them to customers or add a watering service to their portfolio, he explained.
method of tree care for trees that ar- en’t in good shape. Soil and tree in- jections require a skilled person and are invasive. Watering is not. TREEIB makes watering of big trees feasible,” he shared. A large tree care company has evaluated the bags and “they reported it worked as advertised,” Tuser continued. The bags, which come in two sizes, are being used in the United States, Canada, and Europe. FUTURE TRENDS AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES Manufacturers are continuously im- proving irrigation technologies to pro- mote plant health while reducing water usage. For example, the Toro Company has introduced Transpira , a plant sens- ing technology that measures a tree’s water usage by monitoring sap flow in the xylem to provide data for more informed irrigation decisions. Tony Tavares, marketing communica- tions manager for Toro Ag Business,
The bags are “a great supplemental
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