Longleaf pine trees shed a blanket of needles on the forest floor each year. Many forest owners do not realize that it is possible to sell this pine straw. Wise management of this resource can substantially increase an owner’s income from forestland. Retail sales of North Carolina longleaf pine straw in 2016 were estimated at more than $34.8 million annually. This amount could easily be doubled or tripled if owners were more aware of this opportunity and if the market were expanded by promoting to northern states.

Colonial settlers in North Carolina encountered a virgin longleaf pine forest that covered nearly all the well-drained soils of the coastal plain. Conversion of the land for other uses and species, unfavorable cutting practices, and failure to provide proper conditions for regeneration have greatly reduced the acreage of this valuable southern pine.

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) grows well in a variety of soils, but most stands in North Carolina are growing in soils that are sandy, have a low amount of organic matter in the surface layer, and are moderately to strongly acidic. The soil drainage ranges from good to excessive. About 435,000 acres of longleaf forests are found in 21 eastern and south-central counties (Table 1). The harvesting of pine straw can prompt better management of forested acreage. Recent conservation incentive programs have elevated landowner interest in reforesting with longleaf.

Traditionally, planting longleaf pine has been problematic because low seedling survival rates resulted in the failure of a large percentage of plantings. Recently, however, most of these failures have been averted with the availability of containerized seedlings and the practice of early-season planting. Early planting allows seedlings' roots to become established before the growing season, enabling them to resist growing season stresses. Better-quality nursery stock, proper care and handling of seedlings, and adequate site preparation have increased seedling survival rates across the Southeast.

Seedling size affects survival success. Freshly lifted, refrigerated seedlings with a collar diameter of at least 0.4 inch are the best performers. Plant spacing varies by landowner preference, but typically 400 to 600 trees are planted per acre. Container-grown longleaf seedlings have become the preferred planting stock and consistently result in successful plantings with high survival rates. Steps to Successful Pine Planting (Woodland Owner Note 16) provides more information on survival rates for pines.

Longleaf seedlings are intolerant of competition. Their initial growth can be slow and height growth delayed until seedlings are well established. After developing beyond the "grass" stage, longleaf pine’s growth rate compares favorably with other southern pines and may outpace other varieties on poor-quality soils and sites prone to drought.

Longleaf pine is more resistant than other pines to fire and most pine insects and diseases. Rarely is it grown exclusively for pulpwood. The greatest economic returns are realized when the trees are grown on longer rotations and used for large products such as poles, pilings, sawtimber, and veneer logs. Rotation periods of 60 years will produce high-quality products on average sites. These rotation lengths, along with proper forest management practices (thinning and burning), can produce valuable utility poles and provide habitat for endangered species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker. Pine straw production is highly compatible with an extended rotation period and can provide an economic justification for maintaining mature timber.

Source: M. Brown. Evaluator query, January 2022. Forest Inventory and Analysis program (USDA Forest Service Research and Development Branch). Version 1.8.0.00. Based on forest statistics for North Carolina by county using query code for "longleaf-slash pine forest type."

Longleaf pine needles are flexible and fibrous, ranging from 8 to 18 inches long. Pine needles are used by the nursery and landscape industry for decorative cover and mulch. Longleaf pine straw is also used for erosion control, weed barriers, flower or foundation bedding, and natural area mulch. Traditional garden centers are the main suppliers to homeowners, but longleaf pine straw has become increasingly available at home improvement stores.

Understory Removal

Pine straw consumers desire bales that are free of cones, hardwood leaves, and limbs. Most producers manage to keep debris and understory trees to a minimum while encouraging growth of native grasses. Turkey oak, a species that prefers deep, sandy soils and is often associated with longleaf pine, can be a serious contaminant. Herbicide treatment followed by a prescribed burn a year later will help eliminate this species. It may be feasible to cut the oak and treat the stump. Other herbicide options include a foliar spray or a granular application. Consult with your local North Carolina Cooperative Extension agent for current herbicide recommendations. Some landowners opt for a long-term contract with a pine straw producer to harvest the straw and remove understory competition as part of the agreement.

Thinning

Maximum production of longleaf pine straw can be attained in dense stands (from 90 to 100 square feet of basal area per acre). Avoid overcrowding and maintain a crown-to-stem ratio of 25 to 35 percent. The balance between optimal pine straw production and thinning is discussed in detail later.

Fertilization

On many sites, fertilization can replace nutrients removed by raking and increase production of needles and wood. Pine foliage typically remains on the tree for two growing seasons (about 1 1/2 years). New needles will be produced during the first growing season after fertilization but will not fall until the second year. On research plots, the dry weight of longleaf pine straw from fertilized trees was increased by as much as 50 percent by the second growing season following application. Dry weight increases of 25 to 40 percent are possible on nutrient-deficient sites. Research on loblolly pines suggests that the increase in production of longleaf pine straw from fertilizer would gradually decline over the next four-year to five-year period.

Fertilization of longleaf pine has also produced a significant response in growth of tree diameter in stands as old as 55 years. On research plots at the Sandhills Game Land managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, longleaf pines have responded to fertilization with a 19 percent increase in diameter growth (compared to unfertilized trees) during the first growing season, and a 49 percent increase (compared to unfertilized trees) during the second growing season. One cautionary note: Competing species also respond to fertilization, so replacing only nutrients lost from straw removal may be more beneficial than higher fertilizer rates that, under the right conditions, could favor tree growth. Herbicide applications to kill competing trees will allow the fertilizer to benefit only the longleaf pine. Contact your local N.C. Cooperative Extension center about how to best test your site for specific fertilization recommendations.

Raking and Baling

Longleaf pine needles are usually gathered into piles with a pitchfork or mechanical rake for baling. The pine straw should generally be free of sticks and pinecones. Some pine straw areas are either raked and piled entirely with pitchforks or blown into piles with backpack leaf blowers where the understory vegetation prevents the use of tractor-mounted rakes.

Baling pine straw is labor intensive. Few producers are currently using mechanical balers; most use a manual box-baler (Figure 1). Any unwanted debris is picked out of the pine straw by hand. The clean pine straw is raked into piles for loading. One person loads the straw into the baler with a pitchfork, another ties the wire that binds the bale, and another stacks the bales. A three-person crew can produce 250 to 300 bales per day.

Mechanical balers are more expensive but allow for higher production than a manual baler. The tractor-powered or engine-run baler is driven from pile to pile. The straw is raked into long, clean windrows, then picked up mechanically, baled, tied, and pushed out the side. This method can produce 1,000 bales per day.

Production is limited by the need to clean and pile the pine straw. Producers are experimenting with a mechanized system to clean the pine straw. The goal is to produce commercially viable equipment that can work for small-scale and large-scale production. Producers are also experimenting with new balers with a chamber size and shape that could lead to more efficient mechanized rolled and “square” bales.

Pine Straw Bale Size

No standard bale size has been established for longleaf pine straw. Bale lengths generally range from 24 to 30 inches, and the dry weight per bale may vary from 8 to 25 pounds. Average bale size differs by producer and sales area. Consumer-size bales that are light and easy to stow in a car or truck are becoming popular. Some wholesale producers are experimenting with small, round bales, which are popular with landscape professionals.

Annual Yields from Longleaf Stands

Several variables control pine straw yields, including raking efficiency, the vigor and age of the trees, their basal area (a density measure), the collection season, the interval between rakings, and the bale size. A 15-year-old stand being raked for the first time may yield 200 bales or more per acre. Vigorous, young to middle-aged stands typically yield more straw than older, low-vigor stands. A low annual yield is 50 bales per acre, an average annual yield is 70 bales per acre, and an above average annual yield is 100 bales per acre.

A stand with several years' accumulation of needles will not necessarily provide a greater yield than one with a two-year to three-year needle fall because producers opt for the freshly fallen, reddish-orange pine straw. On the forest floor, the needles beneath the second-year layer start to disintegrate and become too brittle to bale. To collect the red and yellow needles most desired by customers, raking should be scheduled annually or at least every second year. Harvesting at two-year intervals is more efficient than raking annually, but the quality will be slightly lower. Table 2 describes practices that ensure resilient pine straw production.

Needles fall throughout the year, but the heaviest shedding occurs in September and October under normal weather conditions. December, January, and February are good months for raking, provided that the bales can be delivered promptly to the dealer or stored under shelter.

Figure 1. Pine straw baler and pile of pine straw bales. Current pine straw baling best practices recommend using a ground cloth to ensure that ants and other insects are not unwittingly transported to retail locations.

Photo by Jerry Holder

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Figure 1. Pine straw baler and pile of pine straw bales. Current pine straw baling best practices recommend using a ground cloth to ensure that ants and other insects are not unwittingly transported to retail locations.

Photo by Jerry Holder

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Landowners managing their forest for pine straw production will want to consider creating a written forestland management plan to help guide their longleaf pine straw efforts. Depending on a landowner's management objectives, an initial step is to plan for the deliberate maintenance and enhancement of native longleaf pine forests, which will improve the quality and quantity of pine-straw-producing areas.

Burn Management Plan

One tool to improve the quality and quantity of pine straw production is a scheduled prescribed fire or burning plan (Figure 2). Longleaf pine is well adapted to fire, even at a young age. A controlled burn, particularly during the growing stage, will control competition from loblolly pine and hardwoods. Loblolly pines and small hardwoods are more susceptible to heat damage at an early age. A plan for ongoing prescribed burns will help maintain a healthy longleaf pine ecosystem while providing these benefits:

• Fostering a bare seedbed for germination of pine seedlings and herbaceous plants

• Controlling understory growth (such as hardwood and brush species), which yields “cleaner” straw

• Increasing available sunlight, which stimulates groundcover and increases vegetative growth, flowering, and fruiting

• Increasing the growth and variety of plants that produce food for wildlife

• Encouraging the growth of native wiregrass

• Increasing beneficial insect populations and reducing ticks

• Maintaining diverse groundcover species and preventing dominance by a few species

• Reducing hazardous fuel accumulation

• Controlling brown-spot needle blight on grass-stage longleaf seedlings

• Helping to prevent invasion or spread of nonnative plant species

Timber Management Plan

Managing a longleaf pine stand on a long-term rotation will extend the potential for straw harvest and maintain good wildlife habitat. A long-term longleaf management program can include a group selection harvest to promote unevenly aged trees while allowing remaining trees to naturally seed the parcel area and support future longleaf pine straw production. A forestry consultant can perform a property review and help a landowner determine a suitable timber management plan to maximize pine straw production.

Pine Straw Rake Plan

Always keep in mind that thinning and resting the stand between raking events can promote tree health and help trees resist pest attacks. Table 2 summarizes easy tips to ensure longleaf stand health while allowing for raking and other production activities.

Burning may be difficult to accomplish in some years, depending on the weather, location of the tract, and availability of burn contractors. The raking plan should include alternative provisions if the tract is not burned; for example, herbicide application may be necessary to prepare the site for raking.

Safe Harbor Agreement Program

Landowners who are concerned about the ongoing conservation of the longleaf pine ecosystem and its support of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker might consider enrolling their property in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Safe Harbor Agreement program to establish a baseline red-cockaded woodpecker population. This agreement allows landowners to manage their property while enhancing wildlife habitat for federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act. For more information, contact the North Carolina RCW Safe Harbor Program Coordinator at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

Figure 2. After a recent prescribed burn, needle fall is visible with minor needle browning in the distance.

Photo by Mary Lou Addor

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Figure 2. After a recent prescribed burn, needle fall is visible with minor needle browning in the distance.

Photo by Mary Lou Addor

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Private landowners often sell their longleaf pine straw to producers who rake, bale, and market the finished product. The producer typically pays by the bale or on a per-acre lease rate. Some landowners rake and bale their own straw and sell it directly to a retailer or consumers. Landowners who sell via retail have sheds or trailers for storage.

Federal and state agencies with longleaf pine acreage offer their straw for sale on a sealed-bid boundary basis. That is, they accept bids (in dollars per acre) on the right to harvest pine straw within a given area over a specified period, usually either every six months or annually. Private landowners can benefit by adopting the bidding approach when they sell their longleaf pine straw. The bidding approach offers some advantages: payment is made before harvesting, competitive bidding brings the highest price, and the owner need not be concerned with keeping track of every bale harvested. There is no minimum forest size for tracts to be raked; forests of 1 to 2 acres are regularly harvested for pine straw.

As with pulpwood and timber sales, it pays to market pine straw in a businesslike manner using a written contract that specifies both parties' conditions of sale. NC State Extension Forestry provides a sample pine straw sale contract. For a list of pine straw producers in your area, contact the local N.C. Cooperative Extension agent in your county, your North Carolina Forest Service county ranger, or a consulting forester.

Adapted from Managing Pine Straw Stands to Reduce Tree Stress. NC Forest Service. 2019. Longleaf Leaflet #14. Raleigh: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

McConnell, E. 2016. Economic Contributions of North Carolina's Pine Straw Industry. Raleigh: NC State Extension.

NC Forest Service. 2011. Harvesting Pine Straw in Longleaf Pine Plantations. Longleaf Leaflet (LL-#10). Raleigh: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

NC Forest Service. 2011. A Low-Cost Pine Straw Box Baler. Longleaf Leaflet (LL-#11). Raleigh: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.