Klaus Körber
Bavarian State Research Center for Viticulture and Horticulture
(Bayerische Landesanstalt für Weinbau und Gartenbau)
"When I first saw the TREEIB® products, I was very positively surprised."
In the future, the saving of older trees will become much more important for our society.
"Climate change with hot temperatures and only a little rain brings many severe problems for shrubs and trees, best seen amongst the dying spruce or beech in the German forests. In this respect, the main problem is actually not the increasing temperature, but the lack of water for their root systems. With water, plants can survive long and hot periods, without water they have no chance to survive. This is a fact.
At our trial ground, over the years, we have had a very good experience with the watering bags. The system is simple: you fill the bag and bring it to the trunk of the tree you want to irrigate. It takes several hours until the water goes through the bag: this is the secret of success – water dripping very slowly onto the ground, and water that soaks slowly through to the fine roots without being wasted. For me, a very practical system for young trees, where the fine roots are still quite close to the trunk.
When I first saw the TREEIB® products, I was very positively surprised.
Although we, at our institute, do not have any practical experience with the TREEIB® system, I can imagine that it would be perfect for watering older trees. Especially when they stand somewhere in a meadow, isolated from any watering system. You bring roughly 1500 l of water to the outer boundary of the tree crown (not to the trunk), where the fine and active roots need the water. When it is empty, you move it to the opposite side of the tree, fill it again, and the smart watering starts all over again. And when you have watered at least 3000 litres of water during a hot period to a suffering tree, that is very, very good!
In the future, the saving of older trees will become much more important for our society. Middle-aged and old trees have a high value in the fight against climate change, and every one of us must put in a lot more effort to save them.
Watering with the TREEIB® system could be an important step in achieving this aim. It seems to have a high work efficiency, and we will be testing this system over the next few years at our institute to help the trees in difficult times."
- Klaus Körber -
LWG Veitshöchheim
March 2021