page_title: Cyperus esculentus
section_title: Compatibility with other crops
hierarchical_section_title: Cyperus esculentus / Compatibility with other crops
caption_attribution_description: English: Cyperus esculentus L. - yellow nutsedge
context_page_description: Cyperus esculentus is a crop of the sedge family widespread across much of the world. It is found in most of the Eastern Hemisphere, including Southern Europe, Africa and Madagascar, as well as the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. C. esculentus is cultivated for its edible tubers, called earth almonds or tiger nuts, as a snack food and for the preparation of horchata de chufa, a sweet, milk-like beverage.
  Cyperus esculentus can be found wild, as a weed, or as a crop. It is an invasive species outside its native range, and is readily transported accidentally to become invasive. In many countries, C. esculentus is considered a weed. It is often found in wet soils such as rice paddies and peanut farms as well as well-irrigated lawns and golf courses during warm weather.
context_section_description: C. esculentus is extremely difficult to remove completely once established. This is due to the plant having a stratified and layered root system, with tubers and roots being interconnected to a depth of 36 cm or more. The tubers are connected by fragile roots that are prone to snapping when pulled, making the root system difficult to remove intact. Intermediate rhizomes can potentially reach a length of 60 cm. The plant can quickly regenerate if a single tuber is left in place. By competing for light, water and nutrients it can reduce the vigour of neighbouring plants. It can develop into a dense colony. Patch boundaries can increase by more than one meter per year. Tubers and seed disperse with agricultural activities, soil movement or by water and wind. They are often known as a contaminant in crop seeds. When plants are small they are hard to distinguish from other weeds such as Dactylis glomerata and Elytrigia repens. Thus it is hard to discover in an early stage and therefore hard to counteract. Once it is detected, mechanical removal, hand removal, grazing, damping, and herbicides can be used to inhibit C. esculentus.
caption: The seed head of a Cyperus esculentus plant
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