Table 14. Percent survival of nursery versus wild sea oats. ' 



Sea oats 



1969 



1970 



Oct. 



Nov. 



Dec. 



Jan. 



Feb. 



Mar. 



Apr. 







North Padre Island 









Nursery 

 Wild 



18 



21 



14 



2 



13 

 16 



23 



47 



22 



27 



1 

 1 



3 

 5 



South Padre Island 



Nursery 

 Wild 





 



1 

 1 



3 

 1 



34 

 32 



1 

 8 



13 

 17 



1 

 1 



1. Number of plants: 150. No significant difference found between 

 source of transplants for any month. 



(e) Row spacing should be wide enough to allow mechanical cultivation. 



(f) Only 1 year is required to produce an outstanding crop of both panicums. Sea 

 oats is more variable after the first year with prime transplants coming from 2-year-old 

 plants. Fertilization of the nursery is essential for maximum density and size of 

 transplants. Fertilization rates are discussed in Section V, 2e. 



(g) Panicums may be planted from late fall to spring for production the next 

 winter. Early winter planting of sea oats may produce suitable material after the first 

 year; late winter plantings will produce suitable material after the second year. Planting 

 methods are similar to beach plantings, and are discussed later. 



(h) Sea oats plants established from seed require at least 2 years for transplant 

 production. Results from seed were highly variable and nursery establishment from 

 seed is not recommended. 



/. Harvesting Transplants. Sea oats culms, either nursery or wild stock, were harvested 

 by excavating individual clumps with a shovel. Culms normally cannot be pulled from the 

 ground without damaging the root system or breaking or bending the basal part of the culm 

 above the internodes. The most expedient method is to dig around the clump perimeter 

 (an ideal clump is less than 1 yard in diameter), angling the shovel slices toward the center 

 and about 1.5 feet deep. The clump is then lifted from the soil, shaken free of sand, and 

 individual culms separated. Culms damaged during digging should be discarded. A part of 

 the clump of several culms and rhizomes should be left intact for regrowth. Harvesting wild 

 stock from a large dune usually requires excavating individual culms rather than clumps, and 

 is time consuming. Wild stock in small clumps on a low flat surface can be harvested at the 

 rate of 200 to 300 culms per man-hour. Although not tested, it may be possible to 

 mechanize sea oats wild-harvesting using a backhoe to dislodge clumps or larger dunes, and 

 then separating the culms by hand. Cost savings probably would be minimal, since five to 

 seven laborers can be hired for the cost of backhoe rental. 



74 



