Differences in growth and herbicide sensitivity among Cyperus esculentus clones found in Belgian maize fields

Summary Cyperus esculentus is an invasive troublesome neophyte in many arable crops in Belgium. Applied weed control varies from field to field. One of the possible reasons for this variability might be a differential vegetative and reproductive behaviour among Belgian C. esculentus clones. In this study, growth characteristics and herbicide sensitivity of C. esculentus clones collected in Belgian maize (Zea mays) fields were evaluated. In a morphology Experiment, 25 clones were screened for growth characteristics and ability to set viable seeds under outdoor conditions. Dose–response experiments were conducted in the glasshouse to evaluate the effectiveness of two foliar-applied herbicides (bentazon and glyphosate) and two pre-sowing soil-incorporated herbicides (S-metolachlor and dimethenamid-P) for controlling 14 C. esculentus clones. Response variables were aboveground dry biomass, tuber number, tuber dry biomass and individual tuber dry weight. Clones exhibited large differences in shoot number (up to 3.1-fold), tuber dry biomass (up to 4.7-fold), tuber number (up to 3.4-fold), individual tuber dry weight (up to 4.8-fold), inflorescence number and capacity to set viable seeds. Large interclonal differences in herbicide sensitivity (up to 8.3- and 4.0-fold for aboveground dry biomass and tuber dry biomass, respectively) were observed. Contrary to foliar-applied herbicides, soil-incorporated herbicides were very effective and provided season-long C. esculentus control at doses below the recommended maximum field dose. However, low doses stimulated tuber formation. Future C. esculentus management strategies should take into account differential growth characteristics and herbicide sensitivity of C. esculentus clones.

[1]  Gerald A. Mulligan,et al.  THE BIOLOGY OF CANADIAN WEEDS. 17. Cyperus esculentus L. , 1976 .

[2]  Genetic and morphological analysis of two novel nutsedge biotypes from California , 2003, Weed Science.

[3]  N. Mantel.  The detection of disease clustering and a generalized regression approach. , 1967, Cancer research.

[4]  J. S. McElroy,et al.  Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus Esculentus) and Large Crabgrass (Digitaria Sanguinalis) Response to Soil- and Foliar-Applied Mesotrione , 2009, Weed Technology.

[5]  R. D. Sweet,et al.  Biology and Life Cycle of Purple and Yellow Nutsedges (Cyperus rotundus and C. esculentus) , 1987, Weed Technology.

[6]  KAREN A. RENNER,et al.  Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) Control and Tuber Production with Glyphosate and ALS-Inhibiting Herbicides1 , 2002, Weed Technology.

[7]  M. Tumbleson,et al.  Reproductive Potential of Cyperus esculentus by Tubers , 1961 .

[8]  Jens C. Streibig,et al.  Bioassay analysis using R , 2005 .

[9]  R. Richardson,et al.  Mesotrione Combinations with Atrazine and Bentazon for Yellow and Purple Nutsedge (Cyperus Esculentus and C. Rotundus) Control in Corn , 2008, Weed Technology.

[10]  A. V. D. Vaart,et al.  Asymptotic Statistics: Frontmatter , 1998 .

[11]  J. Dauer,et al.  Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) Growth and Tuber Production in Response to Increasing Glyphosate Rates and Selected Adjuvants , 2012, Weed Technology.

[12]  P. E. Keeley,et al.  Seed Production and Germination in Cyperus esculentus and C. rotundus , 1979, Weed Science.

[13]  Ray D. William,et al.  Herbicide Action on Purple and Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus and C. esculentus) , 1987, Weed Technology.

[14]  P. Schippers,et al.  A revision of the infraspecific taxonomy of Cyperus esculentus (yellow nutsedge) with an experimentally evaluated character set , 1995 .

[15]  L. M. Wax,et al.  Response of Yellow Nutsedge and Soybeans to Bentazon, Glyphosate, and Perfluidone , 1975, Weed Science.

[16]  P. Bhowmik.  Weed biology: importance to weed management , 1997, Weed Science.

[17]  R. Petit,et al.  Local spread of the invasive Cyperus esculentus (Cyperaceae) inferred using molecular genetic markers , 2008 .