Dwarf mistletoe control on the mescalero apache indian reservation, New Mexico

Dwarf mistletoe is a destructive pathogen of many commercial ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum) stands in the Southwest. From 2005 to 2006, on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, a mistletoe control project was implemented across 3,300 acres. Locally developed management guidelines for treating moderate to severely infected stands recommended salvaging merchantable timber and then slashing remaining hosts >2 ft tall. The goal of this treatment was to diminish residual southwestern dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium vaginatum subsp. cryptopodum) infection while maintaining sufficient, albeit small, natural ponderosa pine regeneration for stocking. In 2008, 12 fixed-radius plots were established within the project area to monitor the emergence of latent infections. Our observations revealed that 9 years posttreatment, 2.3% of the retained cohort had harbored latent mistletoe infections. The treatment appears to result in satisfactory control of the parasite in the Sacramento Mountains of southcentral New Mexico.