SWEET-POTATO PERIDERM COMPONENTS INHIBIT YELLOW NUTSEDGE (CYPERUS-ESCULENTUS) GROWTH

Sequential extraction and chromatographic procedures were used to isol ate inhibitors of yellow nutsedge growth from sweet potato periderm ti ssue. Most of the inhibitory activity was found in a single high press ure liquid chromatography peak that contained 1.2% of the periderm dry weight. Concentration-response data indicated that yellow nutsedge is highly sensitive to this fraction. Several other fractions inhibited yellow nutsedge root growth, but they did not compose a major portion of the inhibitory capacity of the periderm extracts.