Nutsedge: Weedy Pest or Crop of the Future? :: Botany

Nutsedge Weedy Pest or fit out of the Future?Yellow nutsedge (genus genus Cyperus esculentus L.) is an invasive weed in the fall in States. It is often regarded as a inutile pest to home gardeners as well as commercial growers. Along with being a employmentless weed it is difficult to control. Several commercial herbicides have been tagged for use exclusively on yellow nutsedge and be available at local retailers. This, of course, indicates much research has gone into the development of chemicals to eradicate it. In a country that spends much of its time and money on programs charge on the advancement of crop production has the yellow nutsedge been labeled unfairly? Could the U.S. find use for Cyperus esculentus L.? A look into its erstwhile(prenominal) and present might reveal a profitable future. Cyperus esculentus is in the order Commelinales and the family Cyperaceae. Cyperus esculentus can be distinguished from former(a) species of New World nutsedge by its persistent li near cook spiklets that have closely appressed overlapping scales. This perennial plant is self-incompatible. The stop of yellow nutsedge is triangularand has a light green-yellow color. Rhizomes that terminate in tubers are the main means of reproduction, although it does produce viable seed. It is interesting to note that the secern Linnaeus chose for this sedge, esculentus, means edible in latin (6). The two varieties of interest to us are Cyperus esculentus var. esculentus (weedy) and Cyperus esculentus var. sativus ( civilized). Most literature uses the name Cyperus esculentus for both the weedy and the useful sedge. The weedy variety esculentus produces many seeds although the cultivated variety sativus produces few. Yellow nutsedge (weedy) has been reported to produce 605 million seeds per hectare in Massachusetts (4). Both reproduce vegetatively in great numbers. Research indicates that a single nutsedge tuber can produce about 1900 plants and 7000 tubers in one yearly (8 ). The weedy nutsedge was introduced to the Dutch Netherlands in the former(a) 1970s concealed in Gladiolus and it was so invasive that in 1984 a restriction was implemented by the government. This regulation prohibits the harvest of any descend crop in a field that is infested with the yellow nutsedge (3). Cyperus esculentus var. esculentus and Cyperus esculentus var. sativus are closely related according to Moshe Negbi (6). The color of the tubers appears to be one unusual character. Variety sativus has a grey-orange color and variety esculentus has a grayed brown color according to the Royal Horticultural Society food color Chart (3).