Pacific Southwest

Title: Population dynamics of dwarf mistletoe on young true firs in the central Sierra Nevada, California

Author: Scharpf, Robert E,; Parmeter, J. R. Jr.

Date: 1982

Source: Res. Paper PSW-RP-161. Berkeley. CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture; 9 p

Station ID: RP-PSW-161

Description: Young red firs (Abies magnifica A. Murr.) and white firs (A. concolor [Gord. & Glend.] Lindl. ex Hildebr.) on the Stanislaus National Forest, California, were inoculated with seeds of dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium abietinum) for 5 successive years. Only 3 to 4 percent of about 7000 seeds placed on branches resulted in infections. Second-generation infections developed and populations of the parasite built up on some trees but not on others after 17 years. Variables that appeared to regulate population increases included an 8- to 9-year average between inoculation and fruiting of plants, low rate of fruit production among female plants, low proportion of plants producing abundant fruit (100 or more/year), and irregular production of fruit on plants over the years. Death of infected branches also helped keep populations of the parasite in check. In vigorous, well-managed stands of young firs, dwarf mistletoe populations may not build up rapidly enough to result in serious losses.

Keywords: Arceurhobium abietinum, Abies magnifica, Abies concolor, parasitic plants—population(s), mistletoes—effect on increment

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Citation

Scharpf, Robert E,; Parmeter, J. R. Jr.  1982.  Population dynamics of dwarf mistletoe on young true firs in the central Sierra Nevada, California.   Res. Paper PSW-RP-161. Berkeley. CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture; 9 p .