Welcome to the Official Dutch Trig® Website
Dutch elm Disease Can be Prevented!
Dutch Trig® is the proven bio-control vaccine for American and European Elms. Registered and used in Europe since 1992. It has been extensively tested in the US since 1995 and fully registered since 2005. In Canada, registration with the PMRA was initiated in 2007. With Dutch Trig® you now have the choice to safeguard trees from Dutch elm disease. The Elm bark beetles will no longer be deciding your elms’ fate for you.
Introduction
The opportunity to protect elm trees from Dutch elm disease without the use of chemicals, based on the tree’s own natural resistance mechanisms is now available. With the Dutch Trig® vaccine, City, Parks and Private elm owners finally have a proven and affordable tool to actively and effectively prevent Dutch elm disease on their valuable elms.
Dutch Trig® can:
- Protect healthy elms from Dutch elm disease
- Protect large numbers of elms every year
- Reduce the costs of protection
- Reduce the amount of chemicals used in the urban environment
- Minimize wounding of elms
How does Dutch Trig® work?
The vaccine is a pure suspension of conidiospores of Verticillium isolate WCS850 in distilled water. Once injected, the vaccine induces a response from the immune system of the tree and awakens the tree’s natural defence mechanisms. With its defence mechanisms up and running throughout the growing season (induced resistance), the elm is able to successfully fend off a Dutch elm disease infection using nothing but its own natural resistance mechanisms.
On the download page you can find an article on Dutch elm disease by R.J. Scheffer (2008).
Method of application
The method of injecting (inoculation) has been chosen to enable the Arborist to: use as little vaccine as possible, use it only on the targeted tree, ensure a direct uptake by the tree and effectively reach the current annual ring.
Application is:
- Safe: not hazardous to humans or the environment
- Easy: no drilling, or pressurised equipment
- Fast: average 2-3 minutes per tree
The results
Dutch Trig® is effective as a preventative treatment on healthy trees. Injections are repeated annually because each year the new growth ring has to be treated to induce the resistance response. Any trees already infected with DED or connected with diseased trees via root grafts should not be injected as the treatments are no longer useful. In general the results can be summarized as follows:
- 99% of injected elms are successfully protected from Dutch elm disease
- 0.5% of all injected trees are lost to unforeseen root grafted infections
Current use
The vaccine is being used to treat over 32.000 trees in the Netherlands every year. Extensive testing has been done in the US since 1995 in major cities such as Chicago, Denver, Seattle and along the East Coast. Full registration for the US was achieved in 2005. Currently, about 2.500 American elms are injected every year in the US and the number of treated trees continues to increase. For more detailed product information and distributors, please use the specific links in the menu on the left.
