THE BEACH PLUM 3 



a bush producing larger crops of better fruit. When improved bushes are ob- 

 tained, better methods will be needed to propagate them. It will be important 

 to know whether they grow best spaced in orchards and cared for like cultivated 

 plums or allowed to cover whole areas as in the wild. Since they will probably 

 benefit from the use of fertilizer, it is essential to know what kind and how much 

 to apply. Ways must be found for controlling the numerous insects and diseases 

 which ruin a large portion of each crop. Since a healthy and prosperous industry 

 depends on good annual crops, the reasons for crop failures and ways to prevent 

 them need to be found. 



In order that something might be done toward the solution of these problems, 

 the General Court in 1941 appropriated the sum of $500 for experimental work. 

 This money together with the time of several research men and the facilities con- 

 tributed by the Experiment Station allowed several projects to be started. This 

 bulletin reports the results of the work undertaken and brings together such 

 other information as should be useful to those interested in beach plum culture. 



Figure 2. Thicket of Beach Plums — Tall, Erect Type. 



Description 



The beach plum is an exceedingly variable fruit. The range in vigor, size. 

 growth habit, and fruitfulness of the bush and size, shape, color, and quality of 

 the fruit is great because all wild plants are seedlings and, therefore, differ greatly 

 in their hereditary makeup. Some bushes are dwarfish and recumbent with the 

 lower branches hing on the ground, where they are often covered with sand; 

 others are more tree-like, often 6-9 feet tall. The dwarf forms are usually spread- 

 ing and send up many short vertical shoots 18-24 inches or more in length from 

 the recumbent branches. They also sprout freely from the roots, so that a single 

 bush may produce a veritable thicket 6-10 or more feet in diameter. The tree- 

 like forms may grow singly or in groups, often so close together as to form thickets. 

 (Fig. 2). In the areas where these plums grow may be found single bushes, small 

 groups (Fig. 3), large groups (Fig. 4), or even large areas completely covered. 



The root system is characterized by very few fibrous roots, a few large, coarse 

 lateral roots which grow to considerable distances from the trunk, and a large, 

 coarse taproot which grows deeply into the soil. 



