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Closer Look at Yellow Nutsedge
Closer Look at Yellow Nutsedge
Yellow nutsedge, annual nutsedge, purple nutsedge, green kyllinga – these are just a few of the types of sedges that can be found in the US. Sedges grow across the entire world in the temperate to tropical zones. The scientific name for yellow nutsedge is cyperus esculentus, which loosely translates to edible nut, and refers to the tuber that grows on the roots of the plant. Some other names for yellow nutsedge is nut grass, chufa sedge, tiger nuts or earth almond. It is native to the Mediterranean and was cultivated in ancient Egypt for its tasty oil and rich tubers.
Yellow nutsedge can grow 8–30 inches tall and has an extensive underground network, roots, rhizomes, and tubers. The leaves are bright green with a prominent midrib and arise from the base of the plant. When looking at a cross section, the stem is triangular. The seed head is yellow-brown, golden, or straw colored.
Nutsedge was first introduced into the US as a possible vegetable crop in 1854. The cultivation of the plant dates to the Neolithic Age and it was thought to be the 3rd most ancient domesticated food. The tubers had medicinal qualities as well as a fumigant to sweeten clothes and homes. They can be ground up and mixed with honey as a good source of protein. They often called chufa or tiger nuts and are still available for purchase at many health food stores.
In less than 50 years, yellow nutsedge went from a possible cash crop to one of the worse weeds in the US. It quickly spread across the US from the southeast part of the country. Now, it is considered the 16th worst weed in the world. Its cousin, Purple Nutsedge, is rated as the worst weed in the world.
What Makes Yellow Nutsedge So Problematic?
One reason is the number of tubers and shoots that a single plant can produce. Research has shown that a single nutsedge plant planted in the spring can produce 1,900 shoots and 6,900 tubers in a single year (Tumbleson and Komedahl 1961). It can quickly crowd out other plants growing in the same area.
Most of the tubers are in the top 9 to 10 inches of soil. The tubers can remain viable for up to 10 years. During the housing boom that started after World War II, there was a good deal of top soil moved from one location to another as new housing developments sprouted up across the country. If there were yellow nutsedge tubers in that soil, the new location now had a new weed problem. Besides the tubers, one yellow nutsedge plant can also produce about 1,500 seeds.
The type of rooting that yellow nutsedge produces is called a rhizome. These rhizomes can produce several hundred daughter plants from the original plant within one year. This is in addition to producing hundreds of tubers at the end of each rhizome. These offspring can spread as far as 4 to 6 feet away from the original mother plant.
Yellow nutsedge grows best in moist to wet conditions and is tolerant of flooding. Highly irrigated lawns are more prone to swift expansion of a single yellow nutsedge plant. Allowing a lawn to dry out between watering can slow the pace of it spreading.
Cold weather can also help to keep yellow nutsedge under control. When soil temperatures drop to below 20˚ F, the tubers will die off, but those that are much farther down will remain viable. The plant is also somewhat shade tolerant.
There are several specialty herbicides that are used to control yellow nutsedge. Even with these products, the time it takes to get the plant under control can take 2 or 3 years. Considering how prolific yellow nutsedge can be, it is not surprising that it is an uphill battle to get this weed under control.
If your lawn has a problem with yellow nutsedge, contact your neighborhood lawn care professional at Spring-Green and have your lawn evaluated and put together a plan to help it improve. They will be happy to work with you to get Yellow nutsedge under control.