Exploration of Chufa (Cyperus esculentus L. var. sativus Boeck) as a novel specialty crop for the Northeastern United States

Cyperus esculentus L. var. sativus (Boeck) is a globally-distributed sedge that produces edible tubers, commonly called nuts. The tubers are prized as a delicacy in parts of Nigeria and North Africa. This plant is known by many names, but is most commonly referred to as Chufa or Tiger Nuts. Chufa has been foraged as a part of the human diet during the Paleolithic Era, and has been cultivated in Egypt and North Africa for over 6000 years. We wanted to explore the potential of this specialty crop that is high in all 20 amino acids, in vitamins C and E, and in minerals, to evaluate the potential for growing it in the Northeastern United States. We also wanted to explore the optimal conditions for production for anyone who wishes to utilize this crop. We have evaluated the effects of potassium, iron, water, and growth media on the productivity of Chufa. We have chosen potassium to increase tuber size, iron for overall plant productivity, water for drought tolerance, and growth media for overall plant productivity. We have found that increasing potassium with nitrogen and phosphorus increases overall plant productivity, but increased potassium alone does not significantly increase tuber size. We have found that iron has no effect on plant productivity. We have found that the productivity of Chufa increases significantly with increasing water. We have found that professional growing medium is best for overall plant production, followed by organically fertilized organic soil. We hope that our findings help to make Chufa more accessible and enticing to the Western World as a health food crop.