Yellow Nutsedge Sprouting and Resprouting Potential

Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) was studied to determine the relationship between physical character of tubers and sprouting habits. All tuber lots studied, which averaged from 157 to 662 mg per tuber, sprouted and grew well under greenhouse conditions. Longevity (the time between initial planting and death) increased with tuber weight. Weight of the third and fourth sprouts equalled that of the first and second sprouts for heavy tubers, but sprout weight decreased for light tubers. Detaching the plants at 2-week intervals from the tubers which produced them allowed all buds present to sprout. However, when the plants were detached at 4-week intervals, a reduction in the number of sprouts and a decrease in longevity were observed. Allowing plants to grow for 8 weeks before detaching did not cause any further decrease. Number of buds, number of sprouts, number of multiple sprouts, the time interval between first planting and first sprout, and the time interval between successive sprouts did not vary with initial tuber weight. Prolonged refrigerated storage of tubers caused an increased number of multiple sprouts, a decreased initial and subsequent sprouting interval, and a short life.