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Painting the trunk with tar or glue or vaseline or Tanglefoot, et cetera, kills the bark and cambium layer. Then the roots starve. Then the top of the tree dies too.To make a barrier against ants, etc., you must first wrap the trunk with some protective wrap that will not allow any of the above products to touch the trunk.
I would definitely wait until post harvest. At that point, you have two options: - You could leave it. It's not ideal, but the wound will heal over in a year or two. The tree will form a barrier around the dead portion internally, but it wouldn't impact tree health. Personally, I would probably leave it unless cutting it would not leave the canopy ugly or significantly imbalanced. - If you decide to cut it, you would take it back to the crotch where the branch attaches to the trunk
Not too deep.
BahamaDan, I see very green grass under the tree, right up to the trunk!Check for WeedEater damge to the trunk.Check to see if this small tree is a dog's habitual place to pee.Check for high-nitrogen fertilizer's having been applied to the grass.