technique to introduce substances directly into the xylem of a tree to treat or prevent
Trunk injection or endotherapy also known as vegetative endotherapy, is a method of target-precise application of pesticides, plant resistance activators, or fertilizers into the xylem vascular tissue of a tree with the purpose of protecting the tree from pests, or to inject nutrients to correct for nutrient deficiencies. This method largely relies on harnessing the tree's vascular system to translocate and distribute the active compounds into the wood, canopy and roots where protection or nutrition is needed.
Trunk injection/endotherapy is currently the most popular method for control of damaging insects, pathogens, and nematodes in landscape tree care.
Endotherapy is the concept when treatments using the appropriate material formulation are carried out from the inside out through xylem translocation in the trunk/stem of plants during the photosynthetic cycle. Trunk injection is an older term that only reflects how the technique is performed.