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Control of Western Dwarf Mistletoe with the plant-growth regulator Ethephon.

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Ethephon (Ethrel), an ethylene-releasing plant-growth regulator, was applied with a hydraulic sprayer to ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) infected with dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium campylopodum Engelm. f. tsugense (Rosend.) Gill) in the Emmett Ranger District, Boise National Forest. Abscission rates of 60 to 100 percent of dwarf mistletoe shoots were consistently achieved with applications in both July and August of 2,400 p/m of ethephon plus surfactant. Ethephon did not kill the endophytic system of the parasite in the host tissue; new shoots began developing on some of the infections within 2 months after treatment. One year later, most of the female and all the male plants flowered. Results indicated a shorter period of shoot abscission for this dwarf mistletoe. Normal pollen production is interrupted for the year of treatment only, and seed production and dispersal will occur in the second year after treatment.

Keywords

Dwarf mistletoe control, ethephon

Citation

Parks, Catherine A.; Hoffman, James T. 1991. Control of Western Dwarf Mistletoe with the plant-growth regulator Ethephon. Res. Note PNW-RN-506. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 4 p
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/25107