Impact of mistletoes (Amyema miquelii) on host (Eucalyptus blakelyi and Eucalyptus melliodora) survival and growth in temperate Australia

The damaging effects of mistletoes Amyema spp. on host eucalypts in rural Australia concern many landholders, but few data are available to evaluate mistletoe impacts or formulate management strategies. We used an experimental disinfection approach to determine the effects of a putative pest mistletoe, Amyema miquelii, on its two principal hosts, Blakely's red gum (Eucalyptus blakelyi) and yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora), on pastoral properties in northern New South Wales. For each host species, pairs of nearby trees were matched for heigth, diameter at breast height, level of mistletoe infestation and distance to neighbouring trees. One tree per pair was chosen at random and all the mistletoes pruned. After 33 months all treated trees were still alive, but among control trees seven of 29 red gums and one of 20 yellow box trees had died. The difference in survival between treated and control trees was significant for red gum. Among surviving pairs of trees, treated trees of both species had significantly greater diameter increments and significantly more foliage than untreated trees. After 33 months, the average increase in relative host foliage biomass attributable to removal of mistletoes was 22% in red gum and 24% in yellow box, compared with untreated controls. The average increase in radial growth attributable to mistletoe removal was 55% in red gum and 49% in yellow box. Diameter increment was negatively and linearly related to mistletoe infestation level in control trees of both species. The differences between infected and disinfected trees in this experiment may underestimate the impact of Amyema miquelii on host growth because small amounts of host biomass were unavoidably lost during disinfection. In a separate experiment, loss of host biomass had a significant negative impact on diameter increment. Although the results indicate that control of serious Amyema miquelii infestation of individual trees will be worthwhile in terms of immediate host survival and higher growth rate, prudent long-term management may well allow for the loss of small numbers of farm trees to mistletoes when planning tree recruitment and utilisation.