The fastest method to harvest bitter panicum culms is to pull the culm from the ground 

 or break it off at ground level. In winter, culms are dry and brittle, and can easily be broken 

 near the surface. Winter primary culms have also been successfully harvested with a serrated 

 grass scythe, although this is more advantageous in areas of dense, tall growth. In spring and 

 summer the culms are succulent and pliable, and it is easier to pull the culm from the 

 ground with the roots and rhizomes attached than to break it off at ground level. Either 

 method is satisfactory, as rootless broken culms can be as successfully transplanted as 

 rooted ones. Harvesting by hand can usually be done at the rate of 600 to 1,000 or more 

 culms per man-hour. 



g. Posthat -vesting Care. During winter, it usually is unnecessary to give special care to 

 transplants after harvesting if replanted the same day. Transplants should be bundled in 

 groups of several hundred and tied, or packed base first in bushel baskets. If planting is 

 delayed until the following day, or if the weather is hot and dry, plants should be placed in 

 trenches dug in moist sand, and partially buried until planting. 



At times, it is convenient to procure transplants on one day, and plant them at a later 

 date, particularly if the planting site is far from the nursery. In January 1974, an 

 experimental plot was planted to determine the feasibility of long-term storage of 

 transplants in freshwater. Six hundred culms of each species were dug in one day, 

 thoroughly mixed, and grouped in bundles of 100. One bundle of each species was planted 

 immediately; the others were stored in a freshwater pond by immersing the lower half of the 

 bundle. The stored transplants were removed and planted after 1, 4, 9, 17, and 28 days of 

 storage; survival data are shown in Table 15. Bitter panicum was successfully stored for 

 4 weeks, but could have sustained a longer storage period. After 2 to 3 weeks, the culms 

 began to turn reddish-brown, and most green leaves withered, but this did not affect survival 

 after planting. After 4 weeks, some stored transplants were sprouting new shoots from the 

 immersed culm. 



Table 15. Percent survival of bitter panicum and sea oats transplants after storage in freshwater. 



Transplants 



Days of storage 













1 



4 



9 



17 



28 



Bitter panicum 

 Sea oats 



93, a 2 

 49, b 



95, a 

 41, b 



94, a 

 40, b 



88, a 

 19, c 



95, a 

 13, c 



94, a 

 3, c 



1. Number of plants: 100. Transplant stock (600 culms per species) procured 9 January 1974, 

 and planted from 9 January to 6 February at a protected beach site. 



2. Figures sharing common alphabet are not significantly different (P<i.os)- 



Storage of sea oats was less successful. Four days of storage had little effect on survival, 

 but at some point between 4 and 9 days of storage, the culms lost considerable survival 

 potential. After 4 weeks, nearly all failed to survive. 



75 



