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Reusable Toweling For Wrapping Tree Seedlings

Although burlap is popular as a wrapping material in some parts of the country, rolls of polypropylene- or cellulose-based toweling are more popular in the Northern Rockies and parts of the Northwest. The toweling is cut to the proper length for the bareroot stock, wet thoroughly, and used like burlap to wrap the seedlings (figure 2). The toweling is lightweight, cleans up easily, holds moisture as well as burlap, and can be reused several times before being discarded. Burlap is heavier when wet, holds dirt, and is more difficult to rinse out for reuse. Perhaps most important, burlap is thought to be more likely to harbor plant pathogens that can kill the seedlings.

Figure 2—A roll of tree seedlings held together with plastic flagging.

When Kimberly-Clark Corp. decided that it would no longer produce Kimtex in the 19½-inch-wide rolls preferred for tree wrapping, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) was asked to evaluate other suitable products that might be available at reasonable cost.

Market Search and Evaluation

Northern Region National Forests evaluated several alternative fabrics. Cathey Hardin (Bitterroot National Forest) and Jeff Pennick (Idaho Panhandle National Forests) helped develop criteria used to evaluate the products and provided the most detailed evaluations.

A tree-wrapping fabric should have:

• Absorbency. The fabric needs to absorb and hold just enough water for several hours. Thicker fabrics hold too much water, making them heavier and a mess to carry. If the fabric dries out too fast, the seedlings will die.
  
  
• Reusability. For cost efficiency, the fabrics need to be reused at least three or four times before being discarded. Used toweling is usually hand rinsed in one or two tubs of water to remove much of the visible dirt. The toweling disintegrates if it is washed in a washing machine.
  
  
• Stability. The product should not tear when wet. The fabric's stretch and shrinkage should be within the limits required for it to be most effective as a seedling wrap.
  
  
• Low cost. The cost needs to be reasonable, about the same as the cost of the Kimtex fabric that is no longer available (about 21 cents per linear foot in 19½-inch-wide rolls).

We began our market search by contacting suppliers of reforestation products, fabric manufacturers (Kimberly-Clark, DuPont), fabric wholesalers, and specialty fabric Internet sites. The market for tree-wrapping fabric is too small for manufacturers to develop specialty products just for that market. We focused our search on products made for other purposes, such as cleaning or absorbing spills.

Manufacturers and suppliers sent us samples of their products. MTDC procured larger quantities of the most promising products for field evaluation. Table 1 shows the fabrics that were evaluated. Some fabrics were samples that were not readily available as an existing product.

Results

Spun-woven Sontara, manufactured by DuPont, worked best in our limited evaluations. Officials from DuPont told us that Sontara fabrics are used in more than 1,000 products, ranging from disposable car wash towels to medical gowns. There are many different product formulations of the Sontara spun-woven textiles. Absorbent and nonabsorbent fabrics are available. The Sontara fabrics that worked best for wrapping seedlings were the cellulose-based, absorbent type typically used in the cleaning industry and for car-wash towels.

Although we evaluated five different Sontara samples received from different suppliers, only two of the samples are available as reasonably priced products correctly sized for wrapping seedlings. One supplier, American Supply Corp., agreed to custom cut and stock 22-inch by 200-yard rolls of the material in anticipation of receiving orders from the Forest Service. Other vendors contacted by MTDC were unwilling to commit to stocking a unique product for tree wrapping because the demand was expected to be relatively small.

We discovered that the Nu-Towel Blue car-wash towels are made of a Sontara fabric that is essentially the same as the roll product offered by American Supply Corp. These towels are sold in car-wash vending machines, but also are available in precut, unfolded 22- by 24-inch sheets. Our field evaluators preferred the roll product offered by American Supply. The precut Nu-Towel Blue car-wash towels were about 6 inches too short for an optimum-sized roll. You may want to compare the convenience of the precut sheets of the Nu-Towel Blue car-wash towels to the flexible length offered by the American Supply Corp. roll product.

Toweling used in the cleaning industry is a generic product. Rigid product specifications generally are not required. Product specifications can vary from lot to lot. Toweling rejected for high-end uses, such as medical gowns, may find its way to wholesale cleaning suppliers, where it is well suited for cleaning products. Lower priced “second quality” fabrics from American Supply Corp., were just as suitable for wrapping tree seedlings as the top-quality fabrics.

Suppliers

As a service to USDA Forest Service employees, MTDC has identified sources of the highest-rated Sontara fabrics that are available as off-the-shelf products. We may have missed some sources, or overlooked similar products during our limited market search. The Forest Service does not recommend one supply source over others.

• Rolls of Sontara fabric

American Supply Corp.
Attn: John Bisceglio
P.O. Box 10420
Cranston, RI 02910–0093
Phone: 800–779–4040
Fax: 800–779–4040
E-mail: sales@American-Supply-Corp.com
Web site: http://www.american-supply-corp.com

What to order: Absorbent-grade Sontara No. S-8830, 22-inch by 200-yard rolls, $80 per roll (March 2005 price), plus shipping by United Parcel Service. Each roll weighs 16 pounds. Shipping is free for orders over $1,000 (13 or more rolls) when delivered to the same location. Anticipating some future orders from the Forest Service, American Supply has agreed to custom cut a supply of this product, so it may be available on short notice, at least on a seasonal basis. The easiest way to order and to validate availability is to call John Bisceglio directly.

• Nu-Towel Blue car wash towels

Dultmeier Sales
Omaha, NE
Phone: 800–228–9666
Web site: http://www.dultmeier.com

What to order: Product No. NTB501, 150 sheets per case, $32.95 per case. Each sheet is 22 by 24 inches. The product is available folded or unfolded. The unfolded sheets are much more convenient. Before you order this product, make sure the sheets are the correct size for the bareroot stock you plan to wrap.

Acknowledgments

Cathey Hardin, Bitterroot National Forest

Jeff Pennick, Idaho Panhandle National Forests

Deb Mucci, Missoula Technology & Development Center

About the Author

Brian Vachowski has been the reforestation and nurseries program leader since 2002 and has been a project leader specializing in recreation, trails, and wilderness projects at MTDC since 1993. He received a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the University of Massachusetts and a master’s degree in outdoor recreation from Utah State University. He has worked for the Nez Perce, Bighorn, Winema, and Routt National Forests in recreation, wilderness, lands, planning, rural community assistance, special uses, fire, and timber positions. Before coming to MTDC, he was an assistant staff officer for wilderness and recreation on the Nez Perce National Forest.

For additional information about reusable toweling for wrapping tree seedlings, contact Brian Vachowski at MTDC.

Phone: 406–329–3935
Fax: 406–329–3719
E-mail: bvachowski@fs.fed.us

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