Sustainable harvesting of bog myrtle (Myrica gale L.) in Scotland

Summary

Bog myrtle communities were surveyed to determine their accessibility for harvesting and the approximate number of harvestable stems. At least 45.1 million bog myrtle stems within Scotland may be both suitable (about 55 cm long) and easily accessible (< 1 km from a tarmac road) for harvesting. In a harvesting trial in Strath Avon, plants were subjected to five different cutting treatments with and without the addition of NPK. There were significant differences between cutting treatments, but no significant effects of fertilizer. Cutting all stems to half height produced the most rapid regeneration. Stems could take eight years to regenerate to a harvestable size if this cutting method were employed. On this basis, a harvest of 5.6 million stems could be sustained annually, compared with a current harvest of about 0.6 million.