Weed Of The Month -- Yellow Nutsedge

Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) is a troublesome, difficult-to-control weed that is often found in turf. It is also called chufa, nutgrass, or watergrass. It is important to remember that yellow nutsedge is not a grass or broadleaf weed, but a sedge. Yellow nutsedge is a perennial plant that reproduces primarily by small underground tubers — called nutlets — that form at the end of underground stems — called rhizomes. It is because this weed grows from a tuber (or nutlet) that pre-emergents are ineffective (Pre-emergents preventing weeds that grow from seeds in the soil). A single plant can produce several hundred of these tubers during the summer. Yellow nutsedge produces a seedhead when unmown, but its seeds rarely germinate. Yellow nutsedge is most noticeable in summer because its leaves grow more rapidly than the turf during the hottest summer months. Yellow nutsedge is most problematic in turf that is mown too short, and it thrives in areas where soils remain moist from poor drainage or overwatering. However, yellow nutsedge can also be a problem in well-drained areas, especially thin turf. Be patient. several years of control using herbicides will be needed to reduce viable tubers in the soil. Herbicide applications will injure growing yellow nutsedge plants and help prevent more tubers from forming, but herbicide applications will not control tubers that are viable in the soil but have not yet produced plants. Yellow nutsedge being a weed that pre-emergents will not prevent we can only treat it once in has emerged in the lawn and is visible. If you have weeds in your lawn call TDI for a free service call to have your technician come and resolve the weeds.