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Suppression of Purple Nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus) with Polyethylene Film Mulch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

David T. Patterson*
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2199 South Rock Road, Ft. Pierce, FL 34945-3138

Abstract

In greenhouse experiments, translucent polyethylene film mulches reduced or eliminated purple nutsedge shoot emergence compared to a conventional, opaque, white/black polyethylene film mulch. The translucent mulches reduced purple nutsedge shoot biomass, tuber and rhizome number, and tuber biomass 85–99%. In a nonilluminated growth chamber, purple nutsedge shoots emerging from tubers readily penetrated translucent mulch as well as opaque mulch. Shoots emerging in pots illuminated by a mixture of fluorescent and incandescent lighting failed to penetrate translucent mulch but penetrated the opaque mulch. In field experiments, translucent mulches reduced emergence and growth of purple nutsedge 70–88% compared to opaque mulch. Numbers of viable tubers in the soil were reduced 65–76%. In greenhouse and field experiments, the translucent mulches elevated soil and air space temperatures 4–13 C compared to opaque mulch. However, in the growth chamber experiment, air space temperatures were not affected by mulch type, and soil temperatures were only 0.4–0.6 C higher under the translucent mulches. Results suggest that the suppression of nutsedge emergence and growth by translucent mulch cannot be attributed to solarization effects.

Type
Research
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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