Cyperus rotundus control using a mechanical digger and solar radiation.

Cyperus rotundus (purple nutsedge) is considered one of the most noxious weeds affecting agricultural areas worldwide. With its fast growth rate, it competes with annual crops for water, minerals, light and space. It excretes allelopathic materials that impede crop development. Controlling this weed is difficult and is done mostly by manual weeding, cultivation and herbicides, with limited effectiveness. A method was developed for the control of C. rotundus. A machine penetrates the soil and rearranges it, so that the tubers are lifted to the upper soil layer, where they are left exposed to the hot summer climate, dehydrate and die. The method was tested in seven field experiments on various soil types. Two months after the experimental plots were irrigated, 70-100% weed control was observed. The machine's speed (at 1.2 or 1.8 km h−1) and the number of treatments (one, or two treatments a month apart) did not influence the level of weed control. The method has a very high potential to replace manual weeding and application of herbicides. Further work will test whether the treatment has a long-term effect or should be repeated every season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]