542 



444 



661 



576 



605 



519 



768 



640 



1072 



880 



836 



590 



- 



- 



1115 



1093 



1030 



792 



1080 



931 



1344 



1280 



1282 



821 



1462 



1380 



3686 



3585 



1995 



1664 



2468 



2502 



5692 



5581 



3291 



2262 



TABLE 14 



Effect of Number of Stems per Hill, First-Year Growth 

 American Beachgrass 



Yield lb/acre end of August, First Year 



Planted late March, early Planted February 1965 

 Apri I 1964, 18" Spacing 24" Spacing 18" Spacing 



Dune Sand Dune Sand Hydraulic Fill 



Ocracoke Island Ocracoke Island Hatteras Island 

 Stems per Hill S i ng I e CI ump Single Clump Single Clump 



Least S ign i f icant 



Difference .05 405 405 156 156 



Least S ign i f icant 



Difference .01 552 442 212 212 



Coef f ic ient of 



Variability 57$ bl% 60% 60% 



There was a small but consistent difference in both of the 1965 trials 

 favoring breaking plants down to single stems versus planting clumps. This 

 difference is relatively small, but it certainly suggests that the single 

 stems that normally turn up during processing are not undesirable. 



Under adequate fertilization and assuming that the stand survives the 

 first season intact, it is likely that the number of stems per hill is 

 much less important in succeeding years. 



More data on the effect of plant spacing on sand trapping will be 

 required to make possible the computation of optimum planting density for 

 various situations. Experiments covering these points are underway. Very 

 effective sand trapping, however, has been obtained with a first-year 

 growth of around 1200- 1500 pounds of dry weight per acre. Preliminary 

 indications are that efficiency falls off fairly rapidly as cover becomes 

 thinner than this. 



34 



