Note: This Blog post originally appeared on HorizonOnline.com and was published here with permission. Be sure to connect with Horizon on Twitter and Facebook.
We’ve concluded another hot, dry summer in the Western United States. Redwoods, pines and other salt sensitive trees have taken another beating.
What we all need is a good wet winter. But if your trees have a significant buildup of salt, all the water in the world will not help. When salt buildup is severe, water remains unavailable to the roots and trees slowly die of thirst.
Let’s look at how this chain reaction occurs.
The Chain Reaction that Ends in Tree Death
Bicarbonate (HCO3) is a salt that’s common in irrigation water. When bicarbonate gets into our soils and dries out, it releases the hydrogen (H), replaces it with calcium (Ca), and becomes calcium carbonate (CaCO3) – an insoluble mineral crystal that is known to plug pore spaces. Pore spaces are critical to tree health because they allow both air and water to reach the root system.
The formation of calcium carbonate is the first step in the declining health of these trees.
The next step is the inability to leach. Because the calcium carbonate has plugged the pore spaces, water can’t move through the soil profile as it needs to. Leaching or flushing becomes harder and harder. With the lack of cleansing through flushing, sodium begins to build up and soon the trees begin to pull that sodium up. Sodium is quite mobile and it moves to the outside edges of the leaves, resulting in sodium tip burn or firing around the edges of the leaves.
As the sodium buildup continues, you’ll see stems, twigs, branches and limbs begin to die back. If you ignore the signs and allow the buildup to continue, it could very well lead to the death of the tree.
So, what do we do? What can be done?
Revitalizing Salt Damaged Trees with a Drench Application
One of the best ways to revitalize salt damaged trees is with a drench application. Drenching helps with salt issues and releases the sodium from the soil particles, unblocking the soil pores. This allows the water and salts to flush and moves the salt away from the root system.
To create 100 gallons of drenching solution, you’ll need:
- ½ gallon of Blast Sprayable (for the calcium carbonate)
- ½ gallon of Caltrisal ST (for the sodium)
- A liquid calcium product of your choice (for sodium exchange)
- ½ gallon of Sixteen90 (to move the water deeper)
This application should be made within the dripline of the tree branches. And it should be made in November so the treatment is down before the rainy season gets started. That way you can take advantage of every drop of rain possible.
For more information about the products mentioned in this Blog post, please contact your local Aquatrols distributor.
About the Author:
Ken Mauser is a Consulting Agronomist who has served as Aquatrols’ Territory Manager in the Western United States for more than 20 years.
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