MOISTURE STRESS AND FIR ENGRAVER (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE) ATTACK IN WHITE FIR INFECTED BY TRUE MISTLETOE

Abstract

Xylem sap tension, an indication of moisture stress, was compared in foliated twigs of white fir infected by the mistletoe, Phoradendron bolleanum subspecies pauciflorum, and in paired, uninfected fir at the lower, mid-, and upper crown level. The upper boles were examined for fir engraver attacks. Reproductively successful attacks containing little or no host oleoresin were found in the infected fir, while only a single unsuccessful attack filled with oleoresin was found in the uninfected trees. Mean moisture stress in the upper crowns of most of the infected fir exceeded that in uninfected trees in all paired comparisons except one with a light infection. No differences in mean moisture stress between infected and uninfected trees were found at the lower and mid-crown levels.