not needed, but may be necessary for other dunes during a drought. This technique could be 

 used in similar foredune blowouts, especially in areas with heavy visitor usage where 

 trampling of dune faces and foot trails initiates active blowouts. 



/. Hand-Machine Method of Planting. For major backshore plantings, a two-row tobacco 

 transplanter pulled by a rubber -tire tractor was used. The transplanter seats four men, who 

 feed plants into trays where they are picked up by rotating arms and placed in a vertical 

 position in 8-inch-deep furrows. Sand is packed tightly against the plants by packing wheels. 

 On reasonably flat surfaces, the transplanter functions well, and is recommended for any 

 extensive beach plantings. The only drawback is the lack of precise depth control on 

 undulatory surfaces, e.g., small dunes of barren sand or sea purslane on the backshore. 

 Transplants must be trimmed to about 12 to 15 inches in length to pass through the 

 machine without binding. 



The mechanical transplanter was unsatisfactory for planting on slopes of fence-built 

 dunes and on uneven surfaces of the 2-foot-high sand-fence dunes used in hurricane 

 washover passes. The tractor could not be held steady on the slopes and on the uneven 

 terrain, and many plants were seated too shallowly (less than 6 inches). Thus, for any 

 planting other than on the flat backshore, hand labor is required. The hand-planting 

 operation was most efficient by the use of several two-man crews. One man with a 

 sharpshooter shovel opens a 12-inch-deep hole; the other follows with a supply of plants, 

 positions the culms, and closes the hole with the heel of his foot. Hand planting on elevated 

 surfaces allows deeper culm placement, which helps reduce wind excavation where mulching 

 is not used, and also reduces the possibility of the soil becoming dry at the root zone after 

 planting. 



Beach sites can be planted by hand but the higher soil moisture and more densely packed 

 sand relative to elevated sites make this more laborious. Even if the top 1 or 2 inches of 

 surface sand are dry, hand planting is slowed considerably since the dry sand must first be 

 shoveled away. Otherwise, the hole fills with sand as it is dug. In contrast, the transplanter 

 penetrates dry surface sand, positions, and packs the culm in moist subsurface sand. 



g. Erect-Horizontal Method of Planting. Mechanically transplanted and hand- 

 transplanted culms were placed vertically, usually with one-half or more of the culm 

 protruding above the surface. Due to the horizontal rhizomatic growth of both bitter 

 panicum and sea oats, it was thought that horizontal positioning of the culms would be a 

 more satisfactory planting method, especially with bitter panicum which can produce roots 

 or tillers at any of the separated nodes. A series of monthly plantings comparing vertical 

 with horizontal planting for both species was made during 1972-73. Horizontal plantings 

 were made by digging a 6-inch-deep trench with a shovel, and placing the transplant 

 lengthwise in the trench with only the terminal leaves exposed after the trench was refilled 

 with sand. This method resulted in poorer survival for both species than erect planting 

 (Table 40). Apparently 6-inch-deep horizontal transplants are more vulnerable to total 

 burial by sand drifts. In addition to poorer survival, horizontal hand planting required a 

 greater expenditure of energy and time. 



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