Competition studies were conducted in Brazil during 1972 and 1973 between high populations (160 plants/0.1 m2at 5 to 7 weeks after planting) of purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundusL.) and the following vegetable crops: garlic (Allium sativumL. ‘Mineiro’), okra (Hibiscus esculentusL. ‘UFV 1152’), carrot (Daucus carotaL. ‘Nantes’ and ‘Kuroda’), bush-type green bean (Phaseolus vulgarisL. ‘Topcrop’), cucumber (Cucumis sativusL. ‘Aldai’), transplanted cabbage (Brassica oleraceaL. var. capitata ‘Louco’) and transplanted tomato (Lycopersicon esculentumMill. ‘Santa Rita’). Purple nutsedge grew all year with irrigation, although growth was greater during the warm, wet season (October to March). Crop losses due to purple nutsedge competition during the entire cropping season were as follows: garlic 89%; okra 62%; two carrot cultivars, ‘Kuroda’ and ‘Nantes’ 39% and 50%, respectively; green bean 41%; cucumber 43%; cabbage 35%; and tomato 53%. Critical periods of purple nutsedge competition occurred between 3 and 13 weeks for garlic; 3 and 7 weeks for okra, cucumber and the carrot cultivar ‘Nantes’; 3 and 5 weeks for tomato and the carrot cultivar ‘Kuroda’; and at approximately 4 weeks for cabbage and green bean. Purple nutsedge competed for light in the slow-growing, non-competitive crops and for nutrients in all crops. Competition for water was reduced because the vegetables were irrigated regularly. The rate of leaf area development for a competitive crop, green bean, was similar to the rate for purple nutsedge, whereas the rate was much lower for the non-competitive okra.

The effect of planting system and cover crop residues on weed emergence in irrigated vegetable row crops was studied in field experiments from 1995 through 1997. Vegetable crops were either no-till planted (NTP) through cover crop residues or conventionally planted (CP) into soil with cover crop residues incorporated. NTP reduced emergence of hairy nightshade by 77 to 99% and Powell amaranth emergence by 50 to 87% compared with CP. Cover crop treatments were much less important than planting system in regulating weed emergence. Tillage in the spring did not increase the number of viable seeds near the soil surface. Hairy nightshade emergence ranged from 0.6 to 9.8% of the intact seeds in CP compared with 0 to 0.1% emergence of the seeds in the NTP plots. Powell amaranth emergence ranged from 4.9 to 6.5% of the intact seeds in CP contrasted with only 0.4 to 0.9% emergence of the seeds in NTP plots.

Historically, many herbicides have been tested for control of purple and yellow nutsedge, (Cyperus rotundusL. # CYPRO and (C. esculentusL. # CYPES). However, most chemicals provide only poor or temporary control. Reasons for failure include marginal translocation of herbicides to sites of action, temporary inhibition of tuber sprouting, and control of new tuber formation or inconsistent control when applied at different stages of growth and under various environmental conditions. Evaluation criteria that emphasize control of new plants and foliage rather than inhibition of tuber sprouting or new tuber production also contribute to erratic results. Progress toward solving these research problems is evident in studies of the influence of herbicides relative to nutsedge growth stages, new tuber development, and tuber recovery following treatment. In this review, nutsedge response to herbicides grouped by their mode of action within plants will be summarized.

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Weakly phytotoxic, water-soluble pigments from culture filtrates of the potato early blight organism Alternaria solani have been identified by 1H NMR, UV, mass spectrometric, and acetylation studies as the pair of rotamers represented by structure 1a.