from young clumps that have not yet become deeply seated. These are 

 usually found on young deflation plains or on wide areas in front of the 

 foredune. The clumps may be divided into single stems and set 15 to 20 

 centimeters deep in moist soil 45 to 60 centimeters apart. Rows should 

 be spaced for mechanized cultivation. 



Direct seeding is feasible when seed supplies are adequate and a high 

 degree of weed control is assured. However, sea oats seedlings start very 

 slowly and are vulnerable to insect and disease damage as well as to weed 

 competition the first year. For this reason, direct seeding is not 

 recommended. 



The initial period of slow growth can be circumvented by starting 

 seedlings in peat pots in the greenhouse during the winter and transplant- 

 ing them to the nursery in early spring. Although this step increases 

 cost, it may save most of a whole growing season in startup time. Seeds 

 of the more northern populations of sea oats require a period of about 30 

 days of cold storage to break dormancy (Seneca, 1972) . Peat pot-grown 

 seedlings may be transplanted directly to the dunes but these tend to be 

 more expensive than planting stock from nursery beds. 



(d) Management . Plants will respond to small amounts of 

 fertilizers (30 to 40 kilograms of nitrogen, 10 to 20 kilograms of phos- 

 phate per hectare) on sites that are low in nutrients. Excessive ferti- 

 lization will stimulate weed growth and should be avoided. Cultivation 

 should be avoided except when required for weed control. Although some 

 usable transplants are produced the first growing season, sea oats that 

 remain undisturbed through the second growing season will result in more 

 and stronger plants. 



(e) Harvesting . Sea oats are harvested by loosening the 

 sand around individual clumps with a shovel or other tools, lifting the 

 clump by hand and shaking it free of excess sand. It is usually not pos- 

 sible to pull unloosened plants without excessive damage. Clumps are 

 then hand-separated into transplanting units of one or more healthy, 

 vigorous stems. Transplants may be stored upright in tubs or baskets 

 for handling or packaged in bundles as described for American beachgrass. 



Care must be taken to avoid excessive drying of the base of the plant. 

 Dipping the lower 10 to 13 centimeters in a clay slurry, immediately after 

 processing, is suggested. When plants are not to be transplanted immedi- 

 ately, they may be held for periods of a week or so by heeling-in in moist 

 sand. Sea oats plants do not store well in water (Dahl, et al., 1975). 



(3) Bitter Panicum . This plant multiplies readily under nursery 

 conditions, grows well on any well-drained soil, and has no serious pests. 

 As with other dune grasses, nursery manipulation and harvesting are more 

 convenient on sandy soils. 



(a) Soil Selection and Preparation . Any we 11- drained, 

 sandy, weed-free soil is satisfactory. The site does not need to be 



48 



