my husband trying to do yard work....sprayed my little j. maples with roundup and they are now showing signs of death. some of the leaves still look healthy. what can i do to try and revive it? will punching holes in the ground and water them help?
I would strip all the leaves off, defoliate it, water it well and wait for the secondary buds to break.
just water it well, the tree will shed leaves it doesnt need and likely grow back most of its foliage. To my knowledge Roundup is a photosynthesis blocker, stripping the leaves would aggravate the problem.
Paul, I don't think this is correct. According to Monsanto, who manufactures Roundup: "When the products are applied to green leaves or stems, the active ingredient moves throughout the plant so the entire plant dies." Removing the source of the poison (in this case, the leaves) is really the only way to reduce the chance of the plant dying.
I didnt disagree with what monsanto says, I said that as far as I know the plant is a photosynthesis blocker. Once applied and absorbed, whats the point of pulling the leaves off? In a small herbaceous plant one application may be enough to kill it, in a woody plant I would have patience and optimism. If you dont, dig it out, aquire a new one and replant it. for reference if you wish (copied from http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/n100/goodfor13.html): "How does RoundUp work? RoundUp (glyphosate) inhibits a key enzyme that plants and bacteria use to make amino acids called EPSP synthase. Structurally, glyphosate resembles the chemical structure of the amino acid glycine. Because of its structural similarity to glycine, glyphosate binds the active site of the EPSP synthase enzyme that is critical for the production of aromatic amino acids. Without a functional EPSP synthase enzyme, the plant can no longer make the amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan or any other compounds that use this pathway. Since plants must synthesize all of the amino acids that they need for protein production, inhibition of EPSP synthase by glyphosate causes the plant cells to starve for amino acids. All plants and bacteria use EPSP synthase to make aromatic amino acids, so all plants and bacteria are sensitive to RoundUp. [Image of EPSP Synthase] Glyphosate is quickly absorbed by leaves and shoots of plants. Once absorbed into the leaves, glyphosate cannot be broken down. The glyphosate moves quickly through the plant and accumulates in areas of active growth called meristems. Spraying a plant with RoundUp results in a lack of protein synthesis in that plant. Without amino acids, Plants stop growing. Within a week or so, many plant tissues and parts slowly degrade due to lack of proteins. Death of the weed ultimately results from lack of nutrients and dehydration a week or so later. " So I stand behind my "water it and wait" suggestion. pulling the leaves off now will have no effect except to weaken the plant further. If you have the patience, let us know what you do and how the plant responds, for curiosity's sake.
Defoliation is an option. It's a trick we use in the nursery business for various conditions, such as disease but more importantly, summer digging of maples in the pinch. It has to do with tricking the plant into another Spring flush and bud break. Basically it has to do with auxin hormone production. Since auxin runs downward to the roots from the dominant buds and leaves, stripping them sends a signal to the roots and the rest of the plant to generate it's secondary buds. My take on this situation is that if the glyphospate was applied in a heavy dose and enough time passed for it to do it's work the plant will probably wither and die, however if it was a light dose and the time for relocation was short enough, defoliation may help. Good luck
To intorduce auxins in a different manner you could try applying Growth Plus, AKA Nitrozyme. Its available at most garden centers and really popular at the hydroponic stores. http://www.agriorganics.com/products/nitrozyme.html http://www.odlingsteknik.se/NitrozymeTestResultsSummary2003.pdf
