EFFECT OF SELECTED CHEMICALS ON NON-SUBERIZED IMPERVIOUS TISSUE (NIT) FORMATION IN FRASER FIR¹

During the summer of 1983 and 1984, Fraser fir trees at three locations in the southern Appalachians were wounded and treated with napthalene acetic acid (NAA), pectinase and todomatuic acid. The latter two chemicals and an auxin-like compound similar to NAA are associated with balsam woolly adelgid infestations. None of the chemical treatments delayed formation of non-suberized impervious tissue (NIT) at the wound sites. In most cases, NIT formed within 21 - 27 days after wounding, even when not treated.