When it comes to trees, the deep and frequent application of water is more critical. This is why drip and bubbler systems have met with such success.

The other big advantage, of course, is water savings. Because of the way the water is applied in a drip system, traditional surface applications of fertilizer can be ineffective. That?EUR??,,????'?????<

Fertigation Frontiers

A less-explored frontier is using irrigation to send a stream of pest-control chemicals to trees that need it. If successful, the method might provide a welcome alternative to micro-injection, sprays and soil drenching. In fact, some recent research has delivered promising results.

Recent work on irrigation-delivered imidacloprid in grape vineyards (for vine mealybug) and ornamental ash trees (for emerald ash borer) suggests that chemigation holds promise for control of these and other pest species, a team from Utah State University reports.

As said above, fertigation for turf and shrubs is a well-understood science. A number of products exist along with instructions that help superintendents and landscape professions hook up a tank to the irrigation line and get started.

An internet search for tree-specific fertigation and irrigation-based pest control turned up much less though. It was not an exhaustive survey, but it looked like no commercially-available fertigation or chemigation systems are designed for trees in landscape settings.

New Product Opportunity

This finding suggests that an opportunity may exist for companies already marketing fertigation to adapt existing systems. Or, some enterprising superintendent could use existing systems to target pests, or supply nutrients (to palms, etc) in tricky sites and situations.