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Abstract
Beach plum (Prunus maritima Marsh.) is a shrub native to Atlantic coastal sand dunes from Maine to Maryland where it is subject to drought, nutrient and salt stress. Traditionally, beach plum fruit has been collected from the wild to make preserves, an activity that endures as a cultural tradition and cottage industry. Currently, the supply of fruit from wild stands does not meet the market's demand: hence, beach plum shows promise as a new crop for growers in the Northeast U.S. In this report, we present results of a factorial experiment evaluating the effects of irrigation, mulch, and fertilizer on growth and yield of wild collected seed-grown beach plum. Growth and yield were greater in fertilized treatments and within fertilizer regime; irrigation and mulch did not increase growth or yield. Yield component analysis indicated that branches per plant, buds/branch, flowers/bud, fruit set, and diameter/fruit all had significant positive direct effects on yield (dry weight). When two seed sources were compared, precocity and the significance and magnitude of yield components differed. Buds/branch and fruit set had the strongest significant positive effects on yield, indicating that these may be traits to select for either through genetic or cultural manipulation.
Beach plum (Prunus maritima Marsh.) is one of several shrubby plums native to North America. It produces small, distinctively flavored fruit that is collected from the wild for jam production and is arguably the best-known wild plum today. The earliest written account was by John de Verrazano, a Florentine voyager, who recorded "damson trees" in 1524 in the vicinity of what today is southern New York (30). Coastal place names like Plum Island in both New York and Massachusetts, and Prime Hook, a barrier beach in Delaware derived from the Dutch settlers' Pruime Hoek, literally, Plum Point, bear witness to its early recognition as a source of fruit. Today, coastal residents and vacationers prize beach plum jam and jelly, which command premium prices at farm stands and specialty markets.
Despite its popularity, beach plum has a curiously spotty horticultural history. In the 1890s Luther Burbank crossed improved beach plum cultivars with hybrid Japanese plums and obtained what he called the "Giant Maritima" but it was never commercialized due to poor handling characteristics (7) and apparently...