Magic mistletoe

Harvesting mistletoe is one of the most cost-effective drought survival measures available to stock farmers, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

- Advertisement -

Karoo farms with lots of SWEET thorn trees (Acacia karoo) are more drought resistant than farms without them. Besides giving shelter, these trees supply feed all year round – either in the form of leaves, flowers, or pods, depending on the season. They also host the parasitic mistletoe, commonly known as voëlent – which is underrated and underused as an emergency drought feed.

This particular mistletoe (probably Agelanthus natalitius) grows in clusters that become almost as heavy as lucerne bales, and are equally nourishing. Plucked out of the branches using long hooks, they make a nutritious and palatable green feed that gets the rumens of sheep and goats working well. Unfortunately, details about the real feeding value of mistletoe aren’t available.

However, researchers from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Biological and Conservation Sciences have established that mistletoe has a higher nitrogen concentration than its host tree. They found that mistletoe water potential is more negative than that of the host tree, and by maintaining lower water potential it passively accumulates a higher nutrient concentration than its host tree.

- Advertisement -

According to their study, without fruit processing by birds – which are responsible for the local distribution of mistletoe seed – germination isn’t possible in mistletoes.