Dactyloctenium aegyptium

Dactyloctenium aegyptium

Crowfoot grass

Annual up to 75 cm high with soft, slightly succulent leaves rows on denuded land in semiarid areas or as a weed on arable land. Reputed to contain cyanogenetic glucosides and therefore to be a danger for stock at certain times. One of the best grazing grasses in semiarid areas, but it dries out with the onset of the dry season.

			As % of dry matter

		DM	CP	CF	Ash	EE	NFE	Ref

Fresh, early bloom, Kenya			15.8	26.8	10.0	1.8	45.6	131

Fresh, full bloom, Kenya			15.6	27.9	13.6	1.5	41.4	133

Fresh, mid-bloom, Niger			8.7	32.4	10.6	1.5	46.8	45

Fresh, milk stage, India			7.3	33.7	12.5	1.2	45.3	436

Hay, Zimbabwe		91.3	8.3	36.9	6.5	0.8	47.5	499


			Digestibility (%)

	Animal		CP	CF	EE	NFE	ME	Ref

Hay	Cattle		44.3	57.6	38.3	50.0	1.81	499

References

45, 131, 133, 436, 499

Abstracts

Cattle(66)