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Digitaria eriantha
Also called Common finger grass, Digit grass, Pangola grass, Woolly finger grass, Finger Grass, Pangolagrass, Pongola Finger Grass
Digitgrass is a tufted, stoloniferous perennial grass grown mainly as livestock pasture and hay in warm climates. It thrives in full sun and warm, moist, well-drained soil, and tolerates drought and heavy grazing.
Digitaria eriantha, commonly known as digitgrass or Pangola-grass, is a grass grown in tropical and subtropical climates. It grows relatively well in various soils, but grows especially well in moist soils. It is tolerant to droughts, water lodging, suppresses weeds and grows relatively quickly after grazing. This grass demonstrates great potential for farmers in Africa in subtropical and tropical climates, mostly for livestock feed.
The seeds require a clean seedbed for establishment and all seed needs to be evenly distributed when sowing in order to reduce competition in their early stages. Digit grass can grow in a variety of soils, ranging from sands to heavy clay. However, seeds are better adapted to sandy loam soils compared to heavier soils because seedling establishment is easier. Once established, seedling can grow vigorously on clay soils.
Digit grass has low to moderate salt/alkalinity tolerance and moderate tolerance of aluminum. This grass thrives in warm, moist environments where it will generally grow very quickly. The ideal rainfall requirement is estimated to be 450 mm and for seeds about 750 mm. Weeds are typically suppressed. Digit grass responds well to nitrogen and will persist on infertile soils but yields will be low. The estimated appropriate soil pH is >4.2. The ideal condition for the digit grass is full sun and well-drained moist soils. The sufficient amount of nitrogen fertilizer is estimated at between 100 and 300 kg/ha N.
Usually digit grass is used for hay and pasture. It can withstand very heavy grazing and grows quite quickly.
African couchgrass · Raishan · Crabgrass · Fonio · Black fonio · Smooth crabgrass · Indian crabgrass · Hairy crabgrass · Crabgrass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Digitaria eriantha by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
