Systemic iron implants alleviate symptoms of Mundulla Yellows in roadside eucalypts in south east South Australia

Abstract

Mundulla Yellows is a dieback disorder of trees (predominantly eucalypts) along roadsides in the southeast of South Australia, characterized by interveinal yellowing of leaves and eventual death. There are two main theories about the cause of Mundulla Yellows: (1) that the yellowing is lime chlorosis, caused by crushed limestone dust from roads being washed into soil, and (2) that it is caused by an irreversible and transmissible biotic pathogen. We tested the lime chlorosis hypothesis by inserting nutrients directly into the sapwood of symptomatic trees using systemic nutrient implants. If the lime chlorosis hypothesis is correct, nutrient injections of iron and manganese should increase chlorophyll synthesis and result in leaves becoming greener. We applied four different nutrient combinations (iron, manganese, iron + manganese, and a treatment that included a range of essential plant nutrients), as well as control treatments, to symptomatic trees across 10 sites. After 14 weeks there were significant increases in leaf greenness and crown health, compared to controls, when trees received either iron or iron and manganese implants. The results add further weight to the lime chlorosis hypothesis. Nutrient implants are unlikely to be a viable management strategy due to their cost and potentially short-term benefits, and trees will inevitably be lost from the region’s roadsides. Management options should involve increasing revegetation efforts and natural passive regeneration of trees away from affected roadsides, and revegetating the affected areas with species that are suited to the changed soil conditions.