New treatment may save the Palm Trees in Corona del Mar!
Driving down Marguerite Avenue toward Corona del Mar can give a boost to even the most-boring commute — the ocean in the distance, the piers, Big Corona beach and the beautiful date palms trees lining the street. Sadly the majestic date palms planted in the 1920’s are under attack and have been dying and until recently there was no hope of saving them.
The culprit is a pathogen, a fungus that is airborne and soil born. It clogs the vessels of the plant, and nutrients can’t get up. At one point, Marguerite Avenue was home to about 120 of the trees. Now there are fewer than 70. Date palms in other areas of the city, including Newport Coast and Corona del Mar State Beach — also known as Big Corona — also have shown signs of infection
There may be hope for the diseased trees according to Marianne Waindle of Boston based ARBORjet a plant health solutions company. ARBORjet was started about 15 years ago and this technology is not new. It’s more than 50 years old in United States and was commercialized in the early 50s.
The company has performed a test treatment on several of the Palms on Marguerite Avenue. Ms Waindle said “the problem with the palms is a fungus/wilt which is basically the plumbing of the trees. ARBORjet’ S closed system treatment is injected directly into the trunk and focuses the material inside the tree where it will suppress the disease. This is the only way to manage the problem because a topical treatment will not get into the tree to slow down the disease.
Performing an internal trunk injection also limits the exposure to the environment, pets and homeowners.”
They have been fighting this same fungus for over 10 years in Jackson. Florida and this system has been proven to kill the fungus and enable the trees to be saved.
