Cyperus rotundus (purple nutsedge)
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Cyperus rotundus L.
- Preferred Common Name
- purple nutsedge
- Other Scientific Names
- Chlorocyperus rotundus (L.) Palla
- Chorocyperus salaamensis Palla
- Cyperus agresti Willd. ex Spreng. & Link
- Cyperus arabicus Ehrenb. ex Boeck.
- Cyperus bicolor Vahl
- Cyperus bifax C.B.Clarke
- Cyperus bulbosotoloniferus Mig.
- Cyperus comosus Sm.
- Cyperus disruptus C.B.Clarke
- Cyperus herbicavus Melliss
- Cyperus hexastachyos Rottb.
- Cyperus hildra Poir.
- Cyperus hydra Michx.
- Cyperus laevissimus Steud.
- Cyperus leptostachyus Griff.
- Cyperus merkeri C.B.Clarke
- Cyperus micreilema Steud.
- Cyperus nubicus C.B.Clarke
- Cyperus ochreoides Steud.
- Cyperus oliganthus Gand.
- Cyperus olivaris O.Targ.Tozz.
- Cyperus platystachys Cherm.
- Cyperus procerulus Nees
- Cyperus pseudovariegatus Boeck.
- Cyperus purpureovariegatus Boeck.
- Cyperus radicosus Sm.
- Cyperus rudioi Boeckeler
- Cyperus taylorii C.B.Clarke
- Cyperus tetrastachyos Desf.
- Cyperus tuberosus Rottb.
- Cyperus weinlandii Kuk.
- Cyperus yoshinagae Ohwi
- Pycreus rotundus (L.) Hayek
- Schoenus tuberosus Burm.f.
- International Common Names
- Englishcoco grassjava grassnut sedgenutgrasspurple nut-grasspurple nut-sedgered grassred nut sedgewater grass
- Spanishcastanuelacebolletachufachufilaciperocontra yerbacorocillacortaderajonquillojuncealengua de gallinanegrilloparaquitapasto bolitatotorilla
- Frenchsouchet an forme d'olive
- Chinesexiang fu zi
- Portuguesealho-bravocapim-alhocapim-dandájunca de contatiriricatiririca-vermelha
- Local Common Names
- Bangladeshmotha
- Brazilalhoalho-bravocapim-alhocapim-dandájuncajunca-aromáticatiriricatiririca-comumtiririca-vermelhatres-quinas
- Cambodiasmao kravanh chrouk
- Chilealmendra de tierrachufacoquillo
- Colombiacortadera
- Cubaajo cimarronbasarillocaramanacebolletacebolleta de la provinciacebollincoquitocorojillocorojitojuncia redondamacaguitayerba del rinon
- Dominican Republicafiocaramanácoquillojunquillo de sabanaronquillosaqui-saco
- Egyptseid
- Fijisoronakabanivucesa
- GermanyApotheker-CypergrasAsiatisches-CypergrasRunde-CypergrasRunde-Zyperwurzel
- Greecekupere
- Indiadeelagantolakorainagar motha
- Indonesiateki
- Iraqoyarslan
- Italycipero orientalecipero rotondostancia rotonda
- Jamaicanut-grass
- Japanhamasuge
- Kenyamoikut
- Malaysiarumput haliya hitan
- Mexicocebollinpimientillo
- Myanmarmonhnyin-bin
- Pakistannotha
- Perucococoquillocoquito
- Philippinesbalisangaboto-botonismala-apulidmuthasur-sur
- Puerto Ricocoquicoquillo
- Samoamumuta
- South Africarooiuintjieuintjie
- Sri Lankakalanthi
- Surinameadroe
- Taiwanhsiang-fu-tzu
- Thailandhaew mooya-haeo-mu
- Tongapakopako
- Turkeytopalak
- EPPO code
- CYPRO (Cyperus rotundus)
Pictures
Growth habit
A highly variable perennial sedge: flowering stems erect, up to 60 cm tall; inflorescence a terminal, open umbel subtended by several leafy bracts.
Dennis S. Hill
Whole plants
Roots fibrous; tubers dark brown to black, irregularly shaped, 1-2 cm long when fully grown. Each tuber has an apical bud and several lateral buds.
©S.D. Sawant
Inflorescence
Several unequal rays, 2-6 cm long, support 3-8 reddish-brown to purplish-brown, flattened spikelets, 1-2 cm long and 2 mm wide, each with up to 30 glumes.
©S.D. Sawant
Growth habit
Nutgrass spreading in the field: branched chains of rhizomes and tubers become an extensive underground network.
Bill Parsons
Weed competition
C. rotundus growing between vines: much of its economic importance is due to its capacity to remove nutrients from the soil and store them in its tubers, making them unavailable to crops.
Bill Parsons
Whole plant - line drawing
a, Spikelet; b, flower; c, nut.
SEAMEO-BIOTROP
Whole plant - line drawing
C. rotundus habit of flowering plant with young plantlets.Reproduced from the series 'Plant Resources of South-East Asia', Vols 1-20 (1989-2000), by kind permission of the PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia.
PROSEA Foundation
Cyperus rotundus
Charles T. Bryson, USDA ARS, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Cyperus rotundus
Charles T. Bryson, USDA ARS, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Cyperus rotundus
Charles T. Bryson, USDA ARS, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
| Host | Host status | References |
|---|---|---|
| Agave sisalana (sisal hemp) | Other | |
| Allium cepa (onion) | Other | Kajidu et al. (2015) Tahira and Khan (2017) |
| Arachis hypogaea (groundnut) | Main | |
| Camellia sinensis (tea) | Other | |
| Capsicum (peppers) | Other | |
| Capsicum annuum (bell pepper) | Other | |
| Chrysanthemum (daisy) | Unknown | Gobatto et al. (2019) |
| Citrus | Main | |
| Cocos nucifera (coconut) | Other | |
| Coffea (coffee) | Main | |
| Corchorus olitorius (jute) | Main | |
| Glycine max (soyabean) | Other | |
| Gossypium (cotton) | Main | Bükün (2005) Muhammad et al. (2012) |
| Oryza sativa (rice) | Main | Mesquita et al. (2013) Kiran and Rao (2013) Devi et al. (2015) Jabbar et al. (2016) Zachrisson et al. (2018) |
| Pistacia vera (pistachio) | Unknown | Mohammadi et al. (2006) |
| Saccharum officinarum (sugarcane) | Main | Munirathnam and Kumar (2014) Khan et al. (2012) |
| Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) | Other | Stirling and Ashley (2003) |
| Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) | Other | |
| Spinacia oleracea (spinach) | Unknown | Fotopoulos et al. (2011) |
| Syzygium aromaticum (clove) | Other | |
| Triticum (wheat) | Other | |
| Triticum aestivum (wheat) | Other | Kazi et al. (2007) Rahmatullah and Bhatti (2001) Abdul et al. (2009) Ihsan et al. (2011) |
| Vitis (grape) | Unknown | Vergaças et al. (2018) |
| Vitis vinifera (grapevine) | Unknown | Lopes et al. (2019) |
| Zea mays (maize) | Main | Kurniadie and Widayat (2013) Zeeshan et al. (2016) Kurniadie et al. (2015) |
Prevention and Control
Introduction
Once established, C. rotundus can be such an intractable problem that preventative strategies should be employed to avoid its introduction and spread. Intensive use of the same weed management protocols, such as paraquat in coffee or triazine herbicides in maize, can promote the establishment of high populations of C. rotundus. Integrated control, such as crop rotations (Rambakudzibga, 1999) should be considered as part of the management strategy. Whatever methods are used, modelling the population dynamics of C. rotundus indicates that at least 95% control would be required to eliminate this weed (Neeser et al., 1998).
Physical/Mechanical Control
Successful cultivation depends on destroying the tubers of C. rotundus by exposing them to desiccation or by exhausting the food reserves. It is most effective on dry soils but it must be sustained to avoid re-establishment of the fragmented and dispersed rhizome/tuber network. This could necessitate cultivating every 2-3 weeks until the crop forms a canopy to suppress further growth of the weed. In practice this consumes much time and energy and could be detrimental to soil structure. Mowing 1-3 times a week reduces shoot and tuber populations on recreational turf grass (Summerlin et al., 2000).
Organic mulch made from crop residues, such as coir dust (Van Mele et al., 1996) provides temporary suppression of C. rotundus. A layer of 1000-gauge polyethylene is an effective barrier to growth that can be used in nurseries and high value field crops. Soil solarization by polyethylene cover sheets can control C. rotundus (Ricci et al., 1999). Higher soil temperatures and more effective control are possible with thermal-infrared-retentive (TIR) films than with a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) clear film (Chase et al., 1999). This treatment can have a negative effect on some soil biota.
Once established, C. rotundus can be such an intractable problem that preventative strategies should be employed to avoid its introduction and spread. Intensive use of the same weed management protocols, such as paraquat in coffee or triazine herbicides in maize, can promote the establishment of high populations of C. rotundus. Integrated control, such as crop rotations (Rambakudzibga, 1999) should be considered as part of the management strategy. Whatever methods are used, modelling the population dynamics of C. rotundus indicates that at least 95% control would be required to eliminate this weed (Neeser et al., 1998).
Physical/Mechanical Control
Successful cultivation depends on destroying the tubers of C. rotundus by exposing them to desiccation or by exhausting the food reserves. It is most effective on dry soils but it must be sustained to avoid re-establishment of the fragmented and dispersed rhizome/tuber network. This could necessitate cultivating every 2-3 weeks until the crop forms a canopy to suppress further growth of the weed. In practice this consumes much time and energy and could be detrimental to soil structure. Mowing 1-3 times a week reduces shoot and tuber populations on recreational turf grass (Summerlin et al., 2000).
Organic mulch made from crop residues, such as coir dust (Van Mele et al., 1996) provides temporary suppression of C. rotundus. A layer of 1000-gauge polyethylene is an effective barrier to growth that can be used in nurseries and high value field crops. Soil solarization by polyethylene cover sheets can control C. rotundus (Ricci et al., 1999). Higher soil temperatures and more effective control are possible with thermal-infrared-retentive (TIR) films than with a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) clear film (Chase et al., 1999). This treatment can have a negative effect on some soil biota.
Travolis et al. (2009) report that soil solarization seems potentially effective on C. rotundus tuber sprouting, as long as it resulted not only in a soil temperature shift, but also to a high diurnal temperature variation. Moreover, the uniform sprouting of about 95% of the tubers in the soil may allow for more complete control by mechanical, biological or chemical methods.
Chemical Control
Due to the variable regulations around (de-)registration of pesticides, we are for the moment not including any specific chemical control recommendations. For further information, we recommend you visit the following resources:
•
EU pesticides database (http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/)
•
PAN pesticide database (www.pesticideinfo.org)
•
Your national pesticide guide
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 4 October 2022
Language
English
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
SCITE_
Citations
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citations of this publication.
EXPORT CITATIONSExport Citation
View Options
View options
Get Access
Login Options
Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.