Ganesh Tree and Plant Health Care is a Certified Gypsy Moth Posse Member

The Issue

Heavy pressure from gypsy moth has the potential to cause mortalities on shade trees especially in stressful residential sites where gypsy moth feeding is coupled with stress from other biotic and abiotic factors. Healthy trees can tolerate a single defoliation event; however, multiple defoliation events can cause dieback and decline even on healthy trees. Mortalities on stressed trees can occur after a single defoliation event.

Gypsy Moth Life Cycle: https://www.rainbowecoscience.com/treatment-guides/insects-mites/gypsy-moth

The Cure

Commercial insecticide treatments on individual high value shade trees are the only way to ensure predictable protection during high pest pressure. Treatment threshold levels of gypsy moth are assessed by using egg mass counts prior to bud break and are used by me to help us make decisions about treatment scheduling and other cultural options designed to improve the trees recovery and vitality.Ganesh Tree utilizes specialized equipment which enables the pesticide to be delivered directly into each individually selected tree. This is accomplished either through injections directly into the tree or into the soil immediately surrounding the tree.

Unlike traditional spraying, tree and soil injections are specific to the insects which feed only on the tree’s leaves, otherwise known as being host specific in its function. It kills the gypsy moth essentially from the inside out of the tree. The roots and/or tree’s vascular system takes the pesticide up the tree and it is then held within the new and unfolding leaves for about 30 days. Treated tree leaves now become what is referred to as a biological “sink”. Once the gypsy moth larvae are developed enough to begin feeding they take one bite and are eliminated. In this way, it protects the entire tree canopy and every leaf the tree manifests.

The apparatus: https://www.rainbowecoscience.com/equipment/q-connect

Product Used by Methodology

Tree Injection

Tree Injection Product:  https://www.rainbowecoscience.com/products/lepitect-infusible

Tree Product Label: https://www.rainbowecoscience.com/content/pdf/Insecticides/Lepitect-Infusible_Specimen_Label.pdf

Soil Injection

Soil Injection Product: https://www.rainbowecoscience.com/products/lepitect

Soil Product Label: https://www.rainbowecoscience.com/content/pdf/Insecticides/Lepitect_Specimen_Label.pdf

 

The Biology/Guarantee

Trees are biological entities. There are many factors which contribute to the long-term vitality of individual trees. These vary according to the tree species, its age, its genetic makeup, the conditions it finds itself growing in, the care it receives and abiotic and biotic influences that it is experiencing. Gypsy moth defoliation being only one.

One way to evaluate a healthy tree is through assessing its energy budget. Similar to the way we often see our own lives, in that we experience a higher quality of life when we have an adequate monetary budget. In the trees case their money is energy. Specifically, stored energy. This is found in the form of starches and glucose within the tree system. Glucose(sugar) is the tree’s money.

When the gypsy moth defoliates a tree, it is taking away some of the trees energy and severely compromises is ability to make more. If it has enough “stored” energy it can make new leaves after being defoliated. This happens at the expense of other biological processes the tree would prefer to accomplish. Growing, maintaining itself and most importantly defending itself. The issue especially with new and unknown trees lies in an equally unknown level of stored energy. There may be trees which only have enough energy to produce leaves of smaller number and size. A worst-case scenario for these trees would be that they are only able to do that and they do not possess enough energy to make new buds for the following year. In this case the tree would die.

There are many treatments available that can increase the vitality level of trees. If the tree is under attack from the gypsy moth this must be stopped first. Followed by remedial post treatment strategies when appropriate.

Treated trees with high vitality will produce full sized untouched leaves in abundance.

 

I cannot guarantee that a tree will live following my treatment but only that when it makes new leaves that they will remain untouched by the gypsy moth larvae. The leaves may be smaller in size but this would be due to the lack of energy reserves referred to above rather than because of the gypsy moth having eaten them. Contact Ganesh Tree today, and find out how I can help.