Integrated Weed Management for Long-Term Nutsedge Control and Its Economic Impact in Florida Vegetable Production

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: cover crops
• Pest Management: biofumigation, eradication, physical control

This project is aimed to develop sustainable methods for nutsedge control under Florida vegetable production systems and its economic impacts. Nutsedge is rated one of the most troublesome weeds for vegetable production systems not only in Florida but rather across the globe. Previously, growers used Methyl bromide as a primary tool for nutsedge management, but since its phaseout nutsedge management has been a challenge. Nutsedge is a problematic weed mainly due to its ability to propagate through tubers, and most of the currently available management strategies are not very effective on tuber control.

The project focuses on the mechanical option for nutsedge tuber removal from the field using a peanut digger. Following the tuber removal, other weed management tools can be used such as cover crops, herbicides, fumigants, etc. based on the type of cropping system the grower has adopted.

The project basically includes a greenhouse study and a 2-year long field study followed by partial budget analysis to assess the cost to benefit ratio.

The objectives of the research are as follows:

1. To evaluate the herbicides and growth regulators for artificially breaking nutsedge tuber dormancy.

2. To evaluate the long-term nutsedge control feasibility through tuber removal using peanut digger and cover crops.

3. To assess the cost to benefit ratio for physical tuber removal technique for nutsedge control.