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DECEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Nutsedge demands strong, decisive response Prevention is the best medicine for this nasty invasive weed that impacts potato yields


by RONDA PAYNE


ABBOTSFORD – Yellow nutsedge continues to be one of the most challenging weeds in North America. Joel Felix, a crop and soil specialist with Oregon State University Extension Service, says the best advice he can offer growers who don’t have it is, “Don’t get it.” Felix spoke at the Pacific Agriculture Show in


Abbotsford last January and stresses that one of the many issues caused by weeds like yellow nutsedge is its thirst, which competes for water with potatoes. “As soon as the tubers are formed, a potato uses quite a lot of water, so if you don’t control weeds … the water usage could be quite dramatic,” he says. “If you are irrigating – paying for the water – that could be an issue.” In addition to sucking up water, yellow nutsedge steals nutrients, serves as an alternative host for pests, damages potato tubers, reduces crop yields and – when the time comes to harvest – clogs the harvester. Yellow nutsedge looks like grass but as it grows, it


develops its characteristic V-shaped stem and similarly shaped pale green leaves. Stems are pith- filled and the plant reproduces from basal bulbs and rhizome tubers. The tubers will start to grow about four to six weeks after the shoots emerge, which happens early in the growing season (June) as it is stimulated by high levels of nitrogen and longer days. To make matters worse, the rhizomes will grow through the developing potato crop. Simply put, there is no good time to have nutsedge. Shorter days either side of the growing season stimulate tuber production, with a single plant forming up to 7,000 tubers. The tubers overwinter and can remain viable for three years.


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“There is no sense in applying something else in the same group,” Felix says. “Different products have different modes of action. In general, we don’t recommend using a stand-alone treatment. By this, I mean not going to use Prowl only. It’s not going to give you a broad-spectrum control of weeds. That’s why tank-mix is done.”


The most commonly suggested chemical is metribuzin, an active ingredient in Lexone and Sencor . “You can add some Reflex or Eptam if targeting


yellow nutsedge,” Felix says. “Some two-way tank mixes that included Reflex worked very well.” There was no potato injury from the herbicides


Felix tested. Felix encourages growers to download OSU


FILE PHOTO “Avoid it as much as you can,” Felix says. “Once it’s


on your farm, it will take a lot of effort to get rid of it.” It’s enough of a “nightmare” that he suggests sacrificing the area where nutsedge is and using herbicides to destroy anything growing on the land to ensure it’s eliminated. Two or three-way herbicide tank mixes are needed to control nutsedge and a spectrum of other weeds. Felix says there are new products being tested for compatibility, however, even when the right product is used, challenges still exist. “You may have used the right product,” he says. “But the environment that prevailed didn’t let those products work.” As with the majority of herbicides, alternating


different chemistries is the best way to ensure effective action.


Extension’s weed control handbook [https://pnwhandbooks.org/weed/agronomic/potat oes]. The guide’s potato section includes a table with evaluations of herbicide efficacy on weeds in potatoes. Unfortunately, no control methods in the table


show good control of yellow nutsedge. “This table is there as a guide, but your results


may be different,” he says. “We have to worry about herbicide resistance. In the rotation, you use different herbicides.”


Rotating chemicals is one part of yellow nutsedge


control, but crop rotation is paramount. An info sheet created by ES Cropconsult as part of


the BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative’s study of pests suggests cleaning equipment when leaving infested fields and hand- pulling the weed if dealing with a small infestation. Deep-tilling small plants every two to three weeks will help prevent tuber formation, while chemical treatment late spring to early summer and disposal of plant parts in the landfill are other options.


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