| SNIPPER®
(Indole–3-butyric
acid) |
A
de-flowering agent for sweet gum trees that is used to eliminate young
flowers before they fertilize to form gum balls. One application of
Snipper® in early spring causes premature death of developing
flowers but does not affect foliage. Use Snipper® to eliminate
costly maintenance of sweet gum trees in the fall.
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| LABEL |
MSDS |
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Directions
for administering Snipper®
The flower
buds on sweet gum trees break dormancy before the foliar buds which
allows an easy view of the developing flowers. The most visible flower
bud is the bright yellow-green male bud. The female flower bud is
smaller, spoon-shaped, and hangs down and away from the accompanying
male flower bud. |
The sweet gum trees whose first flush of male flower buds reaches
about 1.0 inches tall should be injected with SNIPPER®
promptly. The hormone in SNIPPER®
is converted to another naturally occurring hormone which is
transported through the outer xylem to the flower buds in the
canopy. This hormone then kills pollen cells in the male flowers
as well as the ovule in the female flowers. These dying tissues
cause the formation of an abscission layer at the base of the
flowers and these dying flowers are cast off the tree prematurely,
with no mature flowers to fertilize and form gum balls in the
fall. |
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Proper
timing of the injection process is critical to successful deflowering.
If some of the flowers are allowed to develop to physiological maturity
and fertilize to form young gum balls then injecting SNIPPER®
will not result in their removal. SNIPPER® is
not a defruiting agent so young sweet gum balls will not be cast
early from the tree.
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