Healing Large Cuts with...

[just.wing.it]

...Seaweed extract!

How many of you have heard of this before?
What are your thoughts?

 

[Ironbeaver]

Haven't heard of this. Was there an article?

 

[just.wing.it]

Haven't heard of this. Was there an article?

I caught it in this video.
At 12:15 second mark he begins talking about it.
Sound quality is garbage.

 

[Lorax7]

Interesting idea. It would be cool to test the technique a bit more scientifically by creating wounds of equal size bilaterally on cohorts of trees of the same species, size, and age that have been selected for a high degree of left/right symmetry. Treat the wound on one side only, using conventional commercially produced cut paste on the opposite side as the control. You could even have multiple experimental groups: seaweed extract and foil tape, seaweed extract alone, and foil alone.

 

[It's Kev]

I'm gonna need some sort of home remedy for healing large cuts. i can't seem to find any of the things you guys use, and all the "pen zai" here have got some large abrupt cuts that nobody does anything about.

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

...Seaweed extract!

How many of you have heard of this before?
What are your thoughts?

Hi JWI,
I have heard of this being used as a liquid fertilizer or in conjunction with. I guess that is the common use.
My thinking might be how this extract increases microbial activity in the soil, so maybe it works similarly on big trunk chops/pruning to keep the cambium active ??
Me, I have never bothered with cut pastes, but in my climate (Zone 8/9 ?? ) I think trees have a long season to keep healing themselves etc.
Charles

 

[Anthony]

Did you guys miss the bit on -------- keeping cuts at under 1 inch [ 2.5 cm ] by the Japanese ?

It was on J.B.pines [ softwood ].

Try and plan your trees to this idea.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[just.wing.it]

Hi JWI,
I have heard of this being used as a liquid fertilizer or in conjunction with. I guess that is the common use.
My thinking might be how this extract increases microbial activity in the soil, so maybe it works similarly on big trunk chops/pruning to keep the cambium active ??
Me, I have never bothered with cut pastes, but in my climate (Zone 8/9 ?? ) I think trees have a long season to keep healing themselves etc.
Charles

Interesting idea. It would be cool to test the technique a bit more scientifically by creating wounds of equal size bilaterally on cohorts of trees of the same species, size, and age that have been selected for a high degree of left/right symmetry. Treat the wound on one side only, using conventional commercially produced cut paste on the opposite side as the control. You could even have multiple experimental groups: seaweed extract and foil tape, seaweed extract alone, and foil alone.

Thanks for the input guys!

That would be a good experiment...

Did you guys miss the bit on -------- keeping cuts at under 1 inch [ 2.5 cm ] by the Japanese ?

It was on J.B.pines [ softwood ].

Try and plan your trees to this idea.
Good Day
Anthony

Yeah he did say that....
Hmmm...

 

[Starfox]

Seaweed extract has a controversial history, some claim it is useless while others swear by it.

A major Australian manufacturer is Seasol and this is what it states on their site....

Seasol is made from two species of seaweed – Bull Kelp (Durvillaea potatorum), Chile Bull Kelp (Durvillaea Antarctica) and Knotted Kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum). It is not, by definition, a fertiliser (as it contains only marginal nitrogen and phosphorus levels). Seasol seaweed concentrate is a complete garden health treatment that contains plant nutrients, trace elements, alginic acid and other bioactive compounds. Seasol promotes healthy roots, encourages beneficial soil micro-organisms, stimulates flowering and fruiting and helps plants to cope with stresses like heat, drought, frost and pest and disease attack.

So if taken as read it should have some beneficial effects, just how much I don't know.

For what it is worth if I had access to this product I would use it all the time, especially on newly dug plants. I'd just let them soak in a bucket of it for a few hours.
It is however important to check if your available extract is of similar properties to a product like Seasol, I brought what I figured was a Spanish equivalent and it wasn't until after half my stock was dead or dying I realised it was like 1000 times more concentrate and I absolutely should not of been applying it every two weeks or month.

 

[just.wing.it]

Seaweed extract has a controversial history, some claim it is useless while others swear by it.

A major Australian manufacturer is Seasol and this is what it states on their site....

Seasol is made from two species of seaweed – Bull Kelp (Durvillaea potatorum), Chile Bull Kelp (Durvillaea Antarctica) and Knotted Kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum). It is not, by definition, a fertiliser (as it contains only marginal nitrogen and phosphorus levels). Seasol seaweed concentrate is a complete garden health treatment that contains plant nutrients, trace elements, alginic acid and other bioactive compounds. Seasol promotes healthy roots, encourages beneficial soil micro-organisms, stimulates flowering and fruiting and helps plants to cope with stresses like heat, drought, frost and pest and disease attack.

So if taken as read it should have some beneficial effects, just how much I don't know.

For what it is worth if I had access to this product I would use it all the time, especially on newly dug plants. I'd just let them soak in a bucket of it for a few hours.
It is however important to check if your available extract is of similar properties to a product like Seasol, I brought what I figured was a Spanish equivalent and it wasn't until after half my stock was dead or dying I realised it was like 1000 times more concentrate and I absolutely should not of been applying it every two weeks or month.

Interesting...
Thanks!

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Seaweeds cast on shore and on the mouth of rivers has long been harvested and used as fertilizer in Portugal... there's even a type of boat that was named after this activity: moliceiro.

 

[just.wing.it]

Good to know! Thanks!

Seaweeds cast on shore and on the mouth of rivers has long been harvested and used as fertilizer in Portugal... there's even a type of boat that was named after this activity: moliceiro.

 

[markyscott]

“Callus growth is regulated by the basipetal flow of products in the stem that were synthesized in the leaves of the tree - largely carbohydrates and growth regulators. Whenever sap flow is heavy, both callus growth and vascular cambium division are great. Whenever sap flow is light, vascular cell division is reduced and callus production is limited.” (Neely, D., 1988, Tree Wound Closure, Journal of Aboriculture 14 (6): 148-152)

In other words, wound closure is directly related to the vigor of your tree. If you want to heal wounds, let the tree grow. This is also why wounds in spring heal four times faster than wounds in summer during the first season and there’s typically more dieback adjacent to summer and fall wounds than winter or spring wounds. (Neely, D., 1970, Healing of Wounds on Trees, American Society of Horticultural Science 95: 536-540).

So what we know from horticulture science, is to prune in late winter or early spring and the wound will heal faster and you’ll have less dieback than pruning in other seasons. And we know that the more you let your tree grow, the faster wounds will heal.

I’ve not been able to find any study demonstrating that seaweed extract or foil tape applied directly to the wound will increase the rate of callus growth formation - just support from anecdotal statements like those in the video clip. But I’ve not found a study saying it will hurt either. Just make sure you do what is known to help - prune in the right season and encourage growth and vigor. If you want to put some seaweed extract and foil tape on the wound, it seems unlikely to hurt anything, and maybe it will help. Just know that there’s no controlled study I’m aware of that proves it.

Scott

 

[BrianBay9]

I suspect most of the perceived benefits of most of these products are the result of covering the wound so you don't look at it every day. Then when you do eventually take the material off, you're amazed at the progress in healing over.

 

[just.wing.it]

“Callus growth is regulated by the basipetal flow of products in the stem that were synthesized in the leaves of the tree - largely carbohydrates and growth regulators. Whenever sap flow is heavy, both callus growth and vascular cambium division are great. Whenever sap flow is light, vascular cell division is reduced and callus production is limited.” (Neely, D., 1988, Tree Wound Closure, Journal of Aboriculture 14 (6): 148-152)

In other words, wound closure is directly related to the vigor of your tree. If you want to heal wounds, let the tree grow. This is also why wounds in spring heal four times faster than wounds in summer during the first season and there’s typically more dieback adjacent to summer and fall wounds than winter or spring wounds. (Neely, D., 1970, Healing of Wounds on Trees, American Society of Horticultural Science 95: 536-540).

So what we know from horticulture science, is to prune in late winter or early spring and the wound will heal faster and you’ll have less dieback than pruning in other seasons. And we know that the more you let your tree grow, the faster wounds will heal.

I’ve not been able to find any study demonstrating that seaweed extract or foil tape applied directly to the wound will increase the rate of callus growth formation - just support from anecdotal statements like those in the video clip. But I’ve not found a study saying it will hurt either. Just make sure you do what is known to help - prune in the right season and encourage growth and vigor. If you want to put some seaweed extract and foil tape on the wound, it seems unlikely to hurt anything, and maybe it will help. Just know that there’s no controlled study I’m aware of that proves it.

Scott

Awesome, thanks Scott!

 

[just.wing.it]

Yeah, can totally see that.
@BrianBay9