Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) management in organic plasticulture systems is challenging as it reproduces both by seeds and tubers. Yellow nutsedge has a strong midrib and sharp leaf tip which allows it to puncture plastic mulch and creates favorable conditions for other weeds to grow, compete for resources with crop plants, and decrease crop yield. Lack of available herbicide options in specialty crops make weed management more challenging. Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) is a technique that has shown potential to manage weeds in organic production systems. ASD is facilitated by incorporating carbon sources into the soil, tarping the soil with plastic mulch, and irrigating to the soil saturation. A field study was conducted at Clemson University’s Coastal Research and Education Center, Charleston, South Carolina, to evaluate the impact of various carbon sources in ASD on weed management in organic sweetpotato. This treatment structure for this study consisted of a factorial with four carbon source treatments (cotton seed meal, chicken manure molasses, brassica waste, and non-amended control) and four sweetpotato cultivars (Bayyou Belle, Muraski, Monaco, and USDA 18-040). These sweetpotato cultivars have two different growth habits, either bunch type (USDA 18-040 and Monaco) or spreading type (Bayyou Belle and Muraski). The primary purpose of using different plant architecture is to evaluate the impact of the sweetpotato vine growth habit on weed emergence. Experimental plots receiving chicken manure molasses and cotton seed meal as carbon source resulted in the greatest cumulative anaerobic conditions (
