Weed Profile: Nutgrass Cyperus sp.

Welcome to our latest weed profile on Nutgrass Cyperus sp. Nutgrass is a notoriously hard weed to control and kill, due to the fact that each weed has a number of nuts and daughter weeds. Bioweed is effective in suppression and controlling Nutgrass, but will require several follow up treatments.

Common names: Coco grass, Ground almond, Java grass, Nut sedge, Umbrella Sedge, Nutweed

How to control Nutgrass with Bioweed?

When controlling nutgrass, it is best to take the ‘suppression’ approach. Due to the nature of the plant and its daughter plants, it can be difficult to have a one-take tactic. To best control the nutgrass, several follow up treatments will be required. This will ensure that you can keep the problem areas under control without letting the nutgrass spread. If you can get on to the nutgrass early in the season you can stop the spread of the plant and eventually kill off the nuts.

What is Nutgrass?

Nutgrass is a sedge type plant that is thought to be native to Africa and Asia although it has dominated almost all the world’s regions. Its distribution in Australia covers all states and territories but can dominate in the northern states. New growth is most noticeable in spring and flowering occurs in late spring to summer.

How does Nutgrass grow?

Nutgrass grows from tubers or ‘nuts’ underground. They can live dormant in the soil for up to 10 years and you may not know they are there until the soil has been disturbed. You may ask yourself, why is nutgrass coming up in my yard? The main reason is usually that the soil has been moved and the right growing conditions have been made available. Nutgrass can grow up to 1 metre per year and can start producing daughter nuts within 2-3 weeks. Why is nutgrass in my vegetable garden? Nutgrass prefers high fertility soil, that is why it will compete in your garden for food that is meant for your plants. Nutgrass also enjoys a high moisture content. Areas of damp or wet soil will usually attract Nutgrass. Bioweed is a great way to control in this area as it does not leech into your other plants root systems.

How to control Nutgrass with Bioweed?

Nutgrass only grows at about 1m per year so if you can suppress the spread you are able to control the nutgrass. Be careful when transporting soil around your yard as tubers may be present in the soil and can lead to new outbreaks

Within 2-3 weeks of seeing the nutgrass emerge, the plant will be sending out new rhizomes that produce new nuts. These daughter plants can then repeat the cycle and within a season the plant may have produced hundreds of new nuts. The quicker you can get the nutgrass under control the quicker you can stop the nuts forming. If you can stop the growth of the plants on top early, you will be able to stop the spread of the nuts underground. Applying Bioweed at this stage can stop the spread quickly.

If it is in a garden bed setting the best way to control the spread of nutgrass is good competition. These means have a cover crop in areas that are bare and if no plants are in an area regular mulching. Mowing can also be a beneficial way to reduce the biomass of a nutgrass infestation. A follow up with Bioweed will stop the plant growth and reduce the risk of new daughter plants.