in a denser stand than those produced from transplanting on a 0.61-meter 

 spacing. 



Using an upland nursery is a technically feasible method, but certainly 

 not as easy or economical as nursery plantings in the intertidai zone. 

 It does offer a practicable alternative when intertidai sites are not 

 available. Also, mechanical digging might be easier since the field 

 could be drained beforehand. 



b. Digging and Processing . Plants can be dug from natural stands 

 manually with shovels or mechanically with a small back-hoe. Nursery 

 plantings can be loosened by tractor-drawn tillage and lifted by hand 

 (Fig. 6) . The uprooted material should be separated into single stem 

 (culm) propagules or "plants." Small shoots or short pieces of rhizome 

 may be left attached or discarded if damaged or broken. Small single stems 

 are not usually satisfactory transplants (Tab. 3). Survival of rhizomes 

 solely, i.e. not attached to culms, that were planted at 10- to 15-centi- 

 meter depths was unsatisfactory. Pruning of shoots to facilitate machine 

 planting may be necessary, but experience suggests that severe defoliation 

 should be avoided. The leaves may be necessary for satisfactory rate of 

 survival, possibly for supplying oxygen to the roots. 



Plants to be transported to planting sites may be stacked roots down 

 in tubs, baskets or boxes if moisture loss is prevented. Storage in this 

 manner is satisfactory for a few days. For longer period of storage, 

 plants should be heeled-in in trenches within the intertidai zone. 



Two plant storage trials were conducted in 1973. One test site was 

 adjacent to the nursery area at Beaufort. There was little difference in 

 growth or survival between the freshly dug and the heeled-in plants for 

 all five planting dates (Tab. 4). As might be anticipated, the later 

 plantings of both types of transplants produced markedly less first-year 

 growth than those plantings made earlier in the season. 



Table 4. Survival and Growth of Freshly Dug Transplants 

 and Heeled-in Transplants at Beaufort, 1973.* 



Planting 



Aboveground Dry Wt. (g/m 2 )t 



Survival (percent) 



Date 



Freshly Dug 



Heeled-In$ 



Freshly Dug 



Heeled- 



In| 



7 May 



62 



89 



72 



86 





14 May 



66 



32 



75 



69 





28 May 



43 



36 



76 



73 





11 June 



31 



23 



65 



59 





10 July 



13 



9 



59 



59 





*Harvested 10 September 1973 



tMeans of three samples (individual plants) 



+Dug and heeled-in 26 April 1973 



27 



