ScottF

Attended the first LANTRA training design/implementation session for the new Tree Micro Injection competency. I've been discussing this with Dr Dealga O'Callaghan, who's looking looking to adapt this technology for the UK with the firm which produces the chemicals ands applicator for a couple of years now and they've developed what looks like a good system. In a simlar way to the Arbor-Jet or other US technology, the Syngenta micro-injection systems provides and means of injecting very small doses of pesticide in a tree through small holes in order to combat pests such as OPM and horse chestnut leaf borer, as well as possible other exotic threats on the horizon. The apparent difference between the Syngenta device and some others I've seen and used is that it's essentially a closed system, whereby the chemical is taken is very small (ca. 5ml) doses from a sealed pressurise container into a small hole with a biodegradable 1-way plug into the tree. ALl of the product information and LANTRA training documents are in their final draft now, but are pretty close. As soon as the definitive versions are produced, I'll be posting them here. LANTRA are hoping to have the CRD and BASIS-approved training ready by the end of the summer. Then we and others will hopefully be providing training over the Winter and all being well the product will be approved in time for the Spring 2015 growing season.

Interesting video Dave. We were decompacting a Thuja the other day and noted some interesting root damage whereby the top surface of the ca. 150mm down (below surface) roots had pretty extensive decay along their upper surface (from unauthorised car parking), but there was pretty abundant fibrous root production just below the extent of the decay once we got a bit lower. This was straight mechanical damage (coarse top "soil" horizon crushing down on the root), but I wonder if you'd get this dense fibrous root production on the obverse of a diseased root. I'll post some pics when I get a minute. Out of interest- what do your guys use for PPE in terms of facemasks/breathers etc? We use asbestos-rated disposables, but they're not entirely effective. Cheers S

It'd be mighty interesting to look into the genetics of some of these super-veterans since so many of the veteran oaks grown in wood pastures, for example, that we'd think of as of local provenance were in fact grown from "improved" continental stock since at least the 16th century for making galleons out of and suchlike. As for the rootstock I'm not sure. I'll email Moray and pick his brains (a hands-on tree officer if ever there was one). My understanding of the article was that the grafting was a stop-gap measure to keep the genes going until new trees could be bred from it.

Interesting article on cuttings being successfully taken from an ancient oak not far from us which failed last year. Big up to Wrexham TO Moray Simpson being part of the team that did the work. BBC News - Fallen Pontfadog oak gene plan moves a step forward

I bought the kids Petzl Picchu helmets yesterday, which are very well made (same materials as my Vertex as far as I could tell) and designed for multi-sports, including climbing. My wife's 5'1" (and a bit, she would say), and it fits her. Not sure if you could get ear defenders to fit, but you could always use ear-buds when you're up a tree.

Just went down to have a look at a site we planted with perennials at Bangor University last summer. It's all all looking pretty promising with many of the plants making a great start- even Echinacea purpurea, which often gets slugged to death down here, particularly after a wet winter. Here's some pics: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1455896164643194.1073741839.1434104603489017&type=1 Anyone else's perennials springing into actions out there?

How long's the bed on your king cab mate? looks good. I'm guessing it didn't cost you 6k?

No, the £6k I was quoted was from the original supplier for the GRP box. I thought it was a bit high since you can buy a whole brand new Navara for £14,500. I'll chase Mr Protipper again.

Cheers. I tried to reach Peter by email a couple of times. I gather tthat he's flat-out on tree works. I thought that the £6000 quote I got for a back as described above was a bit steep...

Definitely Lysichiton americanus. Looks very at home in the above picture.

After getting what I felt was an absurd quote for a non-tipping W1800xL1800xH1400 alloy-framed GRP chip box for my 2010 Navara I was wondering if anyone could suggest a supplier. I'm banging the hell out of the standard tub and thought a lockable box would be good for occasional chip/log carrying as well as for carrying the plants, tools, bulk compost etc for our landscaping work. I'm after a simple box with a GRP sides and top, half-dropside below and twin barn doors to chip into above. Ideally it should have either a fixed ladder rack or the means to mount one. Advice gratefully received. We're North Wales-based but I'd be willing to travel to the right supplier.

Glad someone spotted the funniest post I'm ever likely to come up with , Mac.

We use QGIS to output mapping and tabular data for all of our GPS-based surveys, although you still have to collect the data in a suitable software first and then output them as shapefiles. If we're doing safety surveys the point data just needs to be labelled and output to paper scales. If it's a 5837 survey we have to add another set of steps via Autocad and Arborcad to get the colour coding, crown spread etc etc dealt with.

I know and I'm quite happy working with it with 2013 (which is what we run). Arborcad in its current form is available very cheap at the moment for the reasons mentioned above, but I still think it's better than the competition for its simplicity and non-invasiveness of Autocad (a real issue with one product in particular), having tried them. Last time I heard from Chris he was working on a revised, integrated version of Arborcad which integrates Arbortrail and is to be designed to run on Windows 8 tablets. If he manages to do it I think it'll be excellent as I also use Arbortrail and I find nothing can touch it in terms of the way it plots RPAs and crown spreads live on-screen, calculates RPAs in accordance with 5837:2012 (including multistems) and provides them as radii and areas automatically and is easily configurable on the fly to deal with site-specific conditions. Also, the tabular outputs are the cleanest by far of anything I've used (and I've used most things). When I've collected data with arboritrail i simply save it as an Arborcad file and drop the trees onto the base topo in one click, irerespective of the number of trees.

The Stihl one-man auger is great fun to use in rocky soil. The trick is to get the autostop/brake thing to catch before it throws you over a hedge. Hilarious.

Nice shots, Mario. Did you take all of these on the sunniest day of the year up there?

It was a "wring out the trousers and undies" sort of morning yesterday. And then, as if to add insult to injury, it started raining.

I'm running New England Tachyon- works great with the device, but also just a very good rope all round.

We've started using a return form with the scope of works, Ts & Cs (including payment terms) and price +vat for both our consultancy and contracting work. The corporate clients we have seem to see this as perfectly usual. It clearly sets out what we are and aren't going to do, when it will be done by, how much it will cost and how quickly we should get paid. It's fair and open for both sides, and all clients are treated the same. We also include a typical day rate should any extras be requested, and note that the additional charge, base on the day rate, will be agreed before proceeding. I have thought about getting a triplicate "variance order" book made up for site use for this purpose. We don't really do much domestic work, but perhaps this would be seen as cumbersome to a private client. With respect to email acceptance I would perhaps find it acceptable for urgent works with a repeat client, but still not ideal.

Just got a SJ after having used the ARt adjuster for a while and "adjusted" to it well. Instantly feels confidence-inspiring. Like the old man-friendly easy self-tend, too.

One of the main reasons to use Autocad over other less costly options is to make use of automation in order to speed up the plotting of trees. A good automated product will take your tabular tree data and draw NESW crown spreads, number the trees, colour-code them, RPAs etc automatically. We do between 120 and 150 tree surveys each year (and increasing all the time) and now that we use automation, I don't know how we managed without it. Paul's mentioned Keytree, but we use Arborcad and find it very easy to use and creates nice, clean drawings. Cost-wise, you can get Autocad LT for under £1000 if you shop around, then add Arborcad for £295.00. Not sure what Keytree costs at the moment.

I'd chance sweet chestnut on the higher areas if there are any. Pretty tough tree, coppices well and would put up with the sort of relatively light but not over-dry soil you describe.

If you've ever looked at a geological map of the UK you'd see we have every imaginable soil type, sometimes acutely different geotypes right next to each other. Great fun. In terms of the time thing I was just thinking of the cost vs benefit angle. I would imagine this would come into it's own where you did have, for instance, truck ruts on one side of an RPA in dry clay where an airspade would struggle and where the tradeoff of possible root damage ve relieving severe compaction would be acceptable. The appoach of using a nearby healthy tree's roots an an inoculant seems really sensible- it should have the right balance of species and site-specific mycorhizzae/bacteria etc. Makes more sense than a generic mix of lab-cultured taxa in suspension to me. "The research here is strongly tilted toward chemical usage. They go out of their way to set up studies that dis alternatives". As with everything "Nonetheless, inoculation is indeed established practice in the US. Unfortunately 'fell and replant' is common advice here as well, when consultants and arborists avoid getting their hands dirty." I'm always happy to try something that's likely to have a beneficial effect. I would suggest (maybe wrongly, I don't know), that people is the States are willing to spend a bit more on their trees. The cost has to be very clearly reflected in any benefits here.

OK, subsurface hardpan would normally be down to repeated ploughing (generally in an agricultural context) and it would cut under the top horizon and compact the lower. Most hardpans caused by anything other than chronic tillage (more likely in an urban forestry context) are in the top of the soil. When I think of a tree that's suffering from compaction, I would normally be considering a tree that's begun life in a reasonably porous soil (which has allowed it to get to tree-size- this would not be likely in a tree growing with a relatively deep hardpan) which has become more and more trafficked by people, mowing, car parking etc, compacting the top of the soil and which has gradually affected the tree's vitality. Given the size of this device, I'm guessing it would only penetrate a "surface" hardpan anyway? I can imagine that, like radial tranching or similar, this would have some sort of benefical effect provided the lower, uncompacted soil (and ideally subsoil) was permeable (i.e. the water had somewhere to drain to). How many holes do you typically have to make to have a commercially-useful effect for, let's say a 600mm dbh largish garden tree, and how long would it take to do? You mention inoculation in your post. Are you referring to the effect of Guy putting in the healthy roots from another tree with gravel, or some sort of commercial mycorrhizzal product? The jury still seems to be out over here about mycorhyizzal inoculants on established trees (although I can imagine the benefits of container-grown nursery stock), but is it established practice in the US?