Poll:Cut paste - use it or lose it?

cbobgo

Had some discussions recently on the use of cut paste. apparently, it has fallen out of favor in the horticultural community. Many feel its a waste of time. Others feel it speeds/improves healing or the appearance of pruning scars.

What do you all think?

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Hinoki

I know the jury is pretty much out on this topic, but in my opinion it helps prevent disease at the wound site.

Brent

As most of you know, I am pretty opened minded about horticultural procedures, but I probably should have been born in Iowa, 'cause you have to show me. Logical arguments and opinions just aren't going to cut it, anecdotal evidence without some sort of control or counter anecdote (it died when I didn't do it) just isn't good enough.

I never use it, and I think I can convince you that a LOT of the arguments for using it are bogus. That still doesn't mean that it doesn't do something, but you are going to have to try a lot harder to convince me.

Prevents Disease: most likely not correct, at least 99% of the time. Do you disinfect your shears and tools before moving to every new cut site? That is the most common mode of transmission of fungal and bacterial diseases in wounds. If you don't disinfect your tools, it's hard to see how cut paste is going to be very beneficial. You are going to seal IN any pathogen you have transported there. Even if you do disinfect, are you working in a sterile environment? Any of you ever canned foods? How long of an exposure does it take to contaminate a clean hot jar before packing? Seconds. Fungal diseases that enter wounds, can enter any wound, even slight scrapes of the bark, even through lenticels sometimes, even through bundle scars and buds scales. The better treatment would be an appropriate antifungal spray in such an environment.

Do most fungal diseases thrive in a dark moist environment (under cut paste), or in a bright sunlit, dry environment (untreated)?

What gets infected? The xylem is dead tissue, movement of plant fluid is UPWARD, flushing out any pathogens when sap is running. Would non pathogenic composting fungi work better and harder on dead wood that stays moist or exposed wood that stays dry and exposed? If you use cut paste do you only put it on the outer bark or cambium and phloem and bark layers? The live tissues in the outer stem very quickly seal themselves off from the outside air anyhow, so any contamination has to move very quickly.

Healing: Healing occurs from callus tissue arising from the cambium. It is a type of scar tissue, but it is living tissue and it is vascular. It is walled off from the outside environment. What is the process whereby an endogenous substance such as cut paste can affect callus roll formation and growth when it is physically separated? Is it mechanical? Is it irritant? Possible, but this would seem to argue for grotesque scars that try to heal OVER the cut paste.

The callus tissue very soon forms a collar, a pathway around the wound. The most significant factor in the subsequent growth of the collar is the transportation of water, nutrients, and carbohydrates through the collar and around the wound. The maximum collar growth rate is going to be achieved when there is maximum growth ABOVE the wound in in the same pathway. How can cut paste affect this growth?

Now, there are species that are greatly affected by untimely pruning and the subsequent introduction of pathogens. These include Acer sp and Prunus sp. There are many more. I once tried to identify them and the diseases, but it since it wasn't organized that way in the pathology text (Sinclair), it meant reading the whole book and taking notes. It wasn't that important to me. I know when to avoid pruning the species I grow. Now if you are pruning during these times it MIGHT be beneficial to use a sealer that contains an antifungal agent (but it would be better and simpler to just NOT prune then). I know of only one such sealer and it contains a copper compound, unfortunately I have forgotten the name. The folks at MountainMaples.com swear by it, but once again, this is anecdotal evidence, I don't think they have ever done any controlled testing.

On the other hand, I have been pruning trees in the nursery for over twenty years without using sealers and don't see any problems other than the ones to which I alluded above, and that is best controlled by timing. This is anecdotal too, but if there's no problem to solve, you have to show me an advantage. Now it's true, I don't grow everything and there are species for which there may be some benefit. I remain open to this possibility. I grow almost no tropical plants, so that is fertile ground.

On the cosmetic side, I don't have a problem with that. If you have a show tree that has had a sacrifice branch recently removed and you want to try to hide the scar, that's fine with me. I just get irritated when I'm told it HAS to be done or something catastrophic is going to happen. It just isn't the case. If there were such great benefits to using it, why would anyone bother to debate it? Wouldn't the benefits be obvious?

Brent
/rant

BrianBay9

Well, my comments certainly can't compare with Brent's extensive experience, but for what it's worth, I don't use cut paste either. Generally I don't have problems, but then again, I haven't set up controlled experiments either.

Brian

Delboy

I'm no horticultural expert, but I've read many times that it helps retain moisture and prevents dies back. I prefer to use it.
Regards
Delboy.

Jonny

Can't say I haven't used it, but seems to be questionable in its overall benefial properties. It hides scars, but does it heal the wound any quicker...nah...don't think so. Definately not necessary in Pines and other resinous plant material.

Jonny

Ralph

Does anyone know how long the Japanese have been using cut paste in their bonsai endeavors? Do they have more than anecdotal evidence to back up it's use in their extensive bonsai history? Since the west has been doing bonsai for a 100 years or less and our Pacific rim counterparts have been doing it far longer, perhaps we should look to see if they have definitive evidence for or against it's benefits?

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JavaScottC

I've got a big plastic tub of the stuff, and I used it once on a crabapple. Took me a lot longer to clean off than to put it on. I don't use it anymore.

Scott

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Hinoki

Well said Ralph