Genetic and Morphological Variation of Belgian Cyperus esculentus L. Clonal Populations and Their Significance for Integrated Management

Abstract

Cyperus esculentus is an invasive troublesome neophyte in many arable crops across the globe. Analysis of the genetic and morphological profile of local C. esculentus clonal populations may be useful in explaining differential herbicide sensitivity found among distinct clonal populations and spatial distribution patterns. In this study, 35 Belgian C. esculentus clonal populations, evenly spread across the entire infestation area (30,689 km2) and covering a great diversity of farm and soil types, and hydrological and environmental conditions, were genetically characterized using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) profiling. These clonal populations were also grouped into different morphological clusters using data from shoot, tuber, and inflorescence number, fresh tuber biomass, individual fresh tuber weight, and number of germinable seeds collected in three consecutive years. Of the 271 AFLP markers, 207 were polymorphic. The gene diversity among clonal populations was 0.331 and three genetically distinct clusters were identified. Depending on observation year, clonal populations were grouped in four to five morphologically distinct clusters that closely aligned with the genetic clusters. The genetically distinct clusters differed in their geographical distribution pattern and range as well as in their morphological characteristics. Clonal populations belonging to clusters with broad distribution ranges produced numerous viable seeds. Clusters with clonal populations that produced large tubers were less widespread than the cluster with clonal populations producing many small tubers. The results suggest that tuber size, tuber number, and fecundity may all play an important role in the spread of C. esculentus. Morphotyping may be very useful in designing effective preventive and curative C. esculentus management strategies.

Impact of regular mowing, mowing height, and grass competition on tuber number and tuber size of yellow nutsedge clonal populations (Cyperus esculentus L.)

“…In treatments without competition from L. perenne , reductions in shoot number go hand in hand with reductions in tuber number. This is no surprise given the strong positive correlation between both parameters found by De Cauwer et al (2017) and De Ryck et al (2023) in pure stands of C. esculentus .…”

“…The clones (tubers) were collected from different heavily infested fields ( C. esculentus coverage of >20%) in Belgium and named after the location where they were collected. They are genetically and morphologically distinct C. esculentus populations (De Ryck et al, 2023).…”

Impact of Hood Steaming on Tuber Vitality of Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus)

“…The clones Ardooie and Bree were the same clones as the ones tested in the field experiment. Clone Oostkamp replaced clone Meulebeke, but both clones produce large tubers and belong to the same genetic cluster, as shown by De Ryck et al [27]. The clones Ardooie, Bree, and Oostkamp had mean fresh tuber weights of 217.1, 261.0, and 500.0 mg, respectively.…”

“…The genetic distinctness of the chosen clones, namely Ardooie, Bree, and Meulebeke, was confirmed by De Ryck et al [27]. Clones were named after the place in Belgium where they were originally sampled.…”

“…In the literature, there are no data available about the heat sensitivity of different C. esculentus clones. Indeed, there is a lot of genetic diversity within this species, as shown by De Ryck et al [27]. Moreover, the potential effects of the parameters of soil texture, soil moisture content, and tuber burial depth will be assessed.…”