Nutritional Value of Nut Grass for Cattle

Cattle foraging in a permanent pasture

The legume plant known as "nut grass" includes yellow nut grass (Cyperus esculentus) and purple nut grass (Cyperus rotundus). They are also known as yellow nut sedge and purple nut sedge. Yellow nut grass is also called "chufa," or "ground almond" in Spanish, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. Names for these members of the Cyperaceae family often reflect the plant's underground system of tubers, which resemble nuts.

Opportunistic Weed

Agricultural opinions on nut grass appear to be mixed. Gardeners and landscapers consider nut grass to be a persistent weed that grows quickly and can take over lawns and gardens in a short time. Farmers with cotton, alfalfa and sorghum acreage also consider nut grass an opportunistic weed. According to an article by J.T. Brosnan and J. DeFrank of the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, nut grass is particularly hard to eradicate because its root system spreads quickly underground, crowding out other plants.

Nutritious Plant

According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, yellow nut grass is not, however, merely a garden or agricultural pest that is difficult to eradicate. Nut grass is also actively cultivated as an edible legume in West Africa, Spain, China and even parts of the United States. It is used as a food source for wildlife, including deer, wild turkey and migratory birds. Nut grass is also grown commercially as cattle feed and hog feed in many southern states, including Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Nutritional Value

Nut grass stores its nutrients in an underground network of edible tubers. According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, nut grass tubers contain 11 to 17.5 percent sugar, 23 to 31 percent of "good" fatty acids, plant proteins that range from 6.5 to 12 percent, 25 to 40 percent carbohydrates, as well as oil and fiber. All of these are valuable additions to cattle feed. Nut grass also has vitamins A, B1, D2 and E, and high levels of calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, copper and iron.

Cattle Fodder Considerations

According to New Mexico State University, legume-based cattle fodder usually includes peas, beans, soybeans and peanuts, as well as yellow nut grass tubers. Often this type of cattle feed is called a "permanent pasture" because cattle can continuously forage on perennial plants like nut grass, which grows wild in southern New Mexico. Care must be taken when growing nut grass as cattle fodder crop, however, since it can easily spread into neighboring crop acreages, according to San Diego State University.

Human Consumption

In addition to having nutritive benefits for cattle, nut grass is a valuable addition to human diets. Nut grass tubers called "tiger nuts" are cultivated in Egypt as a food source, as well as cattle fodder. Tiger nuts taste like hazelnuts, according to San Diego State University. Nut grass is also grown in Spain to make a cold drink known as "horchata," according to San Diego State University. The popularity of horchata has spread; it is now imported to France, Great Britain and Argentina. Nut grass is also an ingredient in some vegetable oils.

Historic Use

Ancient Egyptians cultivated nut grass for cattle feed and human consumption, according to San Diego University. It was also used in making papyrus, sailcloth and mats because of its fibrous content. Nut grass was brought to the New World during Spanish colonization. Native Americans were one of the first to use nut grass in the New World, mainly as a food staple and medicine.

References

• University of Hawaii at Manoa: "Purple Nutsedge Control in Turf and Ornamentals"
• Agricultural Marketing Resource Center: Chufa
• San Diego State University: Ojos Negros Research Group: Yellow Nutsedge
• New Mexico State University: Agriculture Glossary