VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Robinia neomexicana | New Mexico Locust 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
New Mexico locust wood is hard, heavy, and durable.  It has been used
for fence posts and fuel [34,36].  It is of little use as lumber due to
its small size and limited distribution [34].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
On disturbed sites, New Mexico locust offers good forage and cover for
livestock and wildlife [39,45].  New Mexico locust is eaten by mule
deer, bighorn sheep, Gambel's quail, chipmunk, and porcupine [56].


PALATABILITY : 
Both the flowers and foliage are preferred by cattle and deer [33,36].
Palatability of New Mexico locust in Utah is fair for cattle and horses
and good for sheep [18].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
New Mexico locust has fair energy value but usually has poor protein
value (however, see below) [18].  New Mexico locust leaves comprised 0.8
percent of the total diet of mule deer in Arizona in June [54].  Protein
and acid-detergent fiber were each 25 percent of the leafy material.
Digestible dry matter was 39 percent of the leaves.


COVER VALUE : 
In Arizona, New Mexico locust as a minor species with Gambel oak
noticeably contributed to elk summer thermal cover in a ponderosa pine
(Pinus ponderosa)-white fir overstory [7].  The cover value of New
Mexico locust in Utah is rated as poor for pronghorn, elk, and
waterfowl; fair for mule deer and upland game birds; and good for small
mammals and small nongame birds [18].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
New Mexico locust is cultivated for erosion control [32,34,36,45,56].
Caution is advised when using New Mexico locust in recreation areas
because of its stout spines [32].

In San Dimas Experimental Forest, California, at an elevation of 500
feet (152 m), New Mexico locust bareroot stock was planted on road
fills.  Survival was 52 percent.  New Mexico locust made the most rapid
growth compared to all other species planted.  It has been fully tested
and is recommended for erosion control on sites at 500 to 6,000 feet
(152-1,829 m) in elevation with deep soil and in full sun[32].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
New Mexico locust is cultivated as an ornamental [34,36,56].  

The Hopi Indians have used it as an emetic and for treating rheumatism
[36,56].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
New Mexico locust competes with conifer seedlings and saplings for
moisture and light [26].  Because of its rapid growth and prolific
sprouting, efforts are made to suppress New Mexico locust, especially
after timber harvest [13,14,39].  Brush competition is usually
detrimental to seedling or juvenile tree growth [10,26,30].  However,
Coffman [10] showed that under adverse planting conditions, the highest
establishment rates of planted Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
seedlings occurred under moderate or heavy cover of New Mexico locust
and Gambel oak.

Mechanical methods alone do not successfully control New Mexico locust
[26].  Gottfried [26] tested combinations of mechanical and chemical
control methods on New Mexico locust in central Arizona.  There was no
significant difference among the various treatments after 1 year.
However, 4 years after the combination treatment of (1) cutting stems
during dormancy, (2) painting stumps with 2,4-D, and (3) spraying
sprouts with 2,4,5-T, stems were reduced from 104 to 9.

Within 8 years of an 80-acre (32.4 ha) harvest of mixed-conifer forest
in Arizona, 20 acres (8.1 ha) were covered by New Mexico locust.  The
New Mexico locust plants were treated with picloram; 86 percent of the
plants were dead after 2 years [13].  Single applications of soil
herbicides may not elminate New Mexico locust due to delayed recovery of
plants and establishment of seedlings.  Therefore, follow-up spot
treatment is recommended [13].

In open ponderosa pine stands in northern Arizona, production values for
New Mexico locust were 3 pounds per acre (3.4 kg/ha) [9].  Ffolliott
[22] has developed models for predicting understory production in
ponderosa pine or mixed conifer forests of which New Mexico locust is a
component.

Related categories for Species: Robinia neomexicana | New Mexico Locust