Growth and photosynthetic responses following defoliation and bud removal in eucalypts

► A pot-trial study of Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus nitens found that both species responded similarly to defoliation treatments. ► Growth was reduced more by leaf and bud loss (LB), compared to plants that experienced leaf loss only (L). ► Plants recovered by increasing photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll content and foliar N, and maintaining leaf area.