Care

The wound

One can distinguish two types of cares, corresponding to the two principal techniques of gemmage used: the gemmage with the crot (technical ancestral, used before the XIXe century) or the traditional gemmage (Hugues system) is processes where the gemmor carries out a notch in peripheral fibers of the tree, immediately under the bark, thanks to the Hapchot . The resin runs notch directly. The process of the gemmage with activated, introduced in France into the years 1950, uses a tool which one calls “tree frog” the , which notches the pine on a height not exceeding 2 cm. The gemmeurs pulverize then a sulphuric cloud of Acid on the wound. The cares obtained by these two processes are different by nature.

Traditional Gemmage

The care is a vertical wound carried out by the gemmeurs. The latter divide using a hapchot the conducting channels of the elaborate sap of the maritime pine. To react to this aggression, the tree secretes the gem (or resin) intended for the cicatrization. At the end of one week, the cicatrization takes place and the channels are closed again. In order to ensure a regular flow of the gem, the résinier practices the spade consisting in increasing the care to the top of a few centimetres by wounding the tree again. The part activates care, that which produces indeed resin, is only made up of the first centimetres of the wound.

The spade is practiced upwards, because the elaborate sap circulates from top to bottom, by notching the Aubier in the direction of fibers (vertically). The care is curved in its width, and the top of the notch takes the form of a warhead. The wound does not exceed 1 cm of depth and varies between 6 and 11 cm in width.

Gemmage with the sulphuric acid

The technique of the gemmage to the sulphuric acid, introduced in France into the years 1950, must make it possible to increase the outputs and to decrease the number of spades compared to the traditional gemmage.

The gemmor always practices pricks it in the top of the care, but it notches the pine only on two centimetres height, by peeling sapwood horizontally (contrary to the traditional gemmage), thanks to a tree frog . It pulverizes then a sulphuric cloud of acid on the spade. The sulphuric acid maintains the channels conducting of the sap elaborate opened and delays the cicatrization. Thus, the resin flow is more important and hard longer in comparison with the traditional system: the spade is practiced every 15 days, against 7 days for the gemmage with the hapchot .

The cares, carried out within the framework of the gemmage to the sulphuric acid, are broader and less high than those of the system traditional Hugues . The top of the cares is rectangular instead of being in the shape of warhead. The disadvantage of this system is that, very often, the pines were wounded in heart by the acid and the long-term cicatrization is done much with difficulty, as one sees on photo Ci against.

Cicatrization

The first stage of the cicatrization is the closing of the conducting resin channels. It takes place in approximately 7 days within the framework of the traditional gemmage, and in about fifteen within the framework the gemmage to the acid. With time, the tree grows bigger and the care heals, it is closed again under pads which are formed notch on both sides, longitudinally. With time these pads will come to entirely close again the notch, and the gemmeurs will be able to again gemmate over. Certain trees heal with difficulty, it is notemment the case for many trees gemmated with the acid (attacked in heart) or for too young gemmated pines. One apperçoit clearly the care and pads of cicatrization to the demolition of a tree, cf illustration Ci below.

Gallery

Notes and reference

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