by Mandy Nolen

Many Florida trees are susceptible to aphids, mites, whitefly and a variety of other harmful pests, which sometimes leave us with a difficult decision—spray the tree and kill every insect on it or leave the insects alone and let the tree get eaten.

Traditional foliar sprays indiscriminately kill all insects, but if harmful pests are left to feast on a plant they will cause damage and put unnecessary stress on the plant. The good news is that there is a simple solution that allows us to get around this dichotomy.

Systemic root injection allows beneficial insects to live on the tree while killing only the injurious pests. This is possible because it only kills the pests that feed on the plant. Another benefit of root injection is that it eliminates “pesticide drift” so that 100% of the treatment is used on the intended plant, and there is no waste or unintentional spraying.

A plant’s nutritional needs can also be taken care of systemically. In fact, applying fertilizer via root injection is a great option because it avoids runoff and spillage onto impervious surfaces, which are the most important factors in properly applying fertilizer. Well-nourished plants are less apt to be affected by insect pressure, as well as harsh environmental conditions such as drought. So, a routine fertilization should be a part of your lawn maintenance.

Root injection is great for all trees (with the exception of fruit and nut bearing trees) and is especially useful for large trees that are hard to reach vulnerable parts or that would require a large quantity of foliar spray.

For more information about Systemic Root Injection, please visit Nozzle Nolen at www.nozzlenolen.com. 

Nozzle Nolen is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). For more information about Nozzle Nolen and its Certified Green Solutions Program, visit www.nozzlenolen.com or call (800) 22-NOLEN.