Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Dan Wyant is seeking public assistance in stopping an invasive crop pest, yellow nutsedge, from being planted as a wildlife food source. The plant is a perennial weed that is very difficult and expensive to control.

Several suppliers, using a variety of brand names, are selling the small tubers under the common name chufa. Other names are chufa flatsedge and chufa tigernut.

“It has come to our attention that a popular product being planted in the spring to feed wildlife in the fall and winter is actually an illegal plant,” Mr. Wyant said Thursday, April 14. “We have discovered that sporting goods retailers around the state have been selling the propagative parts of the prohibited noxious weed, yellow nutsedge, as a food plot material for a variety of wildlife. Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) is a serious pest in agricultural areas as it threatens to reduce yields.”

Consumers who have purchased the product are encouraged to return it to the retailer. State inspectors are advising retailers found to be selling the product to stop doing so and return the product to the manufacturer. Retailers who voluntarily cooperate with MDA to stop selling this product will not face regulatory actions.

Those with information about this product are urged to contact MDA’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division at (517) 373-1087.