The Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) has flexible uses as food, feed, and industrial product usage. There are over 27,000 acres across one-hundred and fifty farms in Mississippi and the state also ranks second and third in the nation in acreage and production, respectively. It is paramount for all farmers to suppress weed species, enhance biodiversity, improve soil health, and minimize pests and diseases in plants. In sweet potatoes, there is a significant problem with weeds interfering with yields, reducing crop yield by up to 80%. A chemical approach is usually the most popular utilization, but it can lead to disadvantages with crop quality, intolerance, and, in worst-case scenarios, environmental toxicity. To overcome limited weed control options and preserve or improve sweet potato quality and yield for Mississippi growers, there is a great need to find a supplemental weed control strategy. One solution is the utilization of soil steaming, an alternative method that is environmentally friendly and organically favored. This study aimed to assess the most effective soil steaming depth and duration for controlling a troublesome weed in sweetpotatoes, yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus (L.)). This study is conducted in split plot designs with the soil steaming plots as the main plots in field and greenhouse situations. This was to test different durations of times and depths in the soil for both areas. Depths of 2, 5, and 8 inches, were used. Times of 0, 1, 5, 20, 45 minutes, were used. Maximum temperatures reached were 82 ºC. The germination count was recorded at 21 DAT. The highest weed coverage (55%) was observed in 0 minutes duration. The second highest (30%) was observed at 5 minutes. The least amount of coverage (20%) was observed at 20 minutes. The adoption of soil steaming would be beneficial in sustainable suppression of yellow nutsedge in organic sweetpotato farms. Keywords: soil steaming, weed suppression, sweetpotato, sustainability, organic
