Indian Journal of Ecology

The unmanageable proliferation of purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.), coupled with the persistent nature of its tubers hinders effective control through cultural and mechanical methods. Experiment was conducted during the kharif and summer season at College of Agriculture, Vellayani to assess the effectiveness of land preparation methods to exhaust the tuber reserve and extent of regeneration of the weed. The treatments included stale seedbed (SSB) preparation followed by chemical and mechanical methods. SSB with halosulfuron methyl (HSM) 67.5 g ha^-1 applied at 3-4 leaf stage of the weed resulted in a higher percentage reduction in population (66.10 and 60.80%), shoot dry weight (89.66 and 81.29%), tuber dry weight (75.18 and 69.76%) during summer and kharif, respectively. It was comparable with glyphosate 1.5 kg ha^-1. During both seasons, higher weed control efficiency, lower regeneration count, and tuber viability were noted with SSB + HSM at 67.5 g ha^-1 which was on par with SSB + glyphosate 1.5 kg ha^-1, making it a promising alternative for depleting nutsedge tuber reserves in sandy loam with lower regeneration, especially in light of the restricted use of glyphosate.