Fourwing Saltbush Revegetation Trials in Southern Arizona

Abstract

Fourwing saltbush was seeded and transplanted into native stands of (a) almost pure creosotebush and (b) velvet mesquite with burroweed understory, in southern Arizona. Burroweed and creosotebush were controlled by picloram spray and by grubbing. The mesquite was killed on half of the burroweed plots. Establishment and survival of saltbush was much higher on the creosotebush site than on the mesquite site, presumably because the calcareous (pH 8.0+) soil at the creosotebush site was more suitable than the non-calcareous neutral soil at the mesquite site. Transplants survived much better on grubbed plots than on sprayed or check plots, and seedlings on sprayed or grubbed plots than on check plots. However, after 3 years the stands were reduced to 650 and 46 plants per acre on the creosotebush and mesquite-burroweed area respectively.