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Why is Nutsedge Such a Problem This Year?

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At our recently held National Training Conference, we had a tradeshow for our many equipment and product vendors. One of our Franchisees asked the representatives of FMC Professional Solutions why there were so many nutsedge plants this year. It was a good question and one that I had asked myself. I am very observant of what is growing in lawns and landscapes wherever I travel and it seems to me that nutsedge has run rampant this year. FMC makes several weed prevention products that the lawn care industry uses to control nutsedge. Dr. Ken Hutto, Technical Service Development Manager for FMC provided this simple answer.
“Each nutsedge plant has the ability to produce several hundred tubers, or nutlets every year. These tubers can remain viable for 3 years or more in the soil. For much of the US, this has been a wetter than normal year, coming on the heels of a very dry 2012. Each nutsedge plant also produces underground roots called rhizomes, which allows the plant to spread throughout a lawn or landscape. So, the extremely wet year along with an abundance of tubers and rhizomes has provided the perfect environment for the proliferation of nutsedge this year."
Unfortunately, the problem is going to be even worse next year. The plants that we see this year are busy producing new rhizomes and tubers, which will germinate into new plants next year and so on and so on. There are weed control materials you can apply to nutsedge that will kill off the plants. Now would be a good time to get started doing so before the cooler weather of fall arrives. If you are a Spring-Green customer, call your local office and they can schedule a supplemental application to get the nutsedge in your yard under control. Here are a couple of interesting facts about nutsedge from Ohio State University:
  1. The botanical name for nutsedge, cyprerus esculentus, translates to "abundant edible sedge."
  2. The plant was cultivated in Egypt around 400 BC and is still cultivated in parts of Spain.
  3. Pigs find the starchy tuber a delicious treat.
  4. The tubers of most nutsedges are edible. Yellow nutsedge has an almond-like flavor and can be eaten raw or roasted. (Since I have never eaten them myself, I want to state that eating the tubers is something that you can do at your own risk.)
  5. Papyrus, a related species that grows 10 feet tall, was used in ancient Egypt to make paper.