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Graminae
Common names
Woolly finger grass.
Description
A robust, tufted, non-stoloniferous perennial with culms up
to 150 cm high, usually branched; lowest leaf-sheaths densely hairy at
the base, the leaves otherwise glabrous or with scattered tubercle-based
hairs on the lower sheaths, blades up to 60 cm long, 6-12 mm or more wide,
expanded; ligule 2-3.5 mm long; eight to ten, sometimes four to six racemes
up to 15 cm long, arranged digitately or, more often, alone or in whorls
on a central axis up to 7 cm long, the lower often divided and compound
in the lower half; spikelets 3.5-4 mm long, fairly conspicuously hairy
(Chippendall, 1955).
Distribution
It occurs in the Transvaal, Orange Free State, northern Cape
Province and parts of the Kalahari thornveld in southern Africa. The species
was described from plants growing at Doornkloof, Field Marshal J.C. Smuts's
home at Irene in the Transvaal (Chippendall, 1955).
Season of growth
Summer.
Drought tolerance
It is very drought resistant, surviving a severe drought at
Moree in north-west New South Wales (Darley, 1967).
Soil requirements
It does well on sandy soils.
Ability to spread naturally
It spreads rapidly from stolons.
Land preparation for establishment
A well-prepared seed-bed is preferred, but root-stocks can
be established in a rough seed-bed.
Sowing methods
Propagated by division of root-stocks or by seed.
Vigour of growth and growth
rhythm
D. smutsii CPI16778A has excellent spring growth characteristics
(Hacker, 1976).
Response to defoliation
It will stand heavy defoliation.
Grazing management
It will stand heavy grazing and can be managed by short- term
grazing at high stocking followed by top-dressing with nitrogen after grazing.
Dry-matter and green-matter
yields
In Sri Lanka an annual yield of 21.46 t/ha DM was obtained
from a fully fertilized pasture (Pathirana & Siriwardene, 1973).
Main attributes
Its ability to spread rapidly; its tolerance to heavy grazing
and its response to fertilizers.
Main deficiencies
Its poor seed production.
Ability to compete with
weeds
It can compete successfully with weeds.
Palatability
It is closely grazed at the Veterinary Research Farm at Entebbe
Uganda (van Rensburg, 1969).
Chemical analysis and
digestibility
In mid-country Sri Lanka, analyses of D. smutsii at four weeks
showed 17.2 percent dry matter and 13.35 percent crude protein and at six
weeks 17.64 percent dry matter with 11.44 percent crude protein, when fully
fertilized with 140 kg N, 196 kg P2O5 and 252 kg K2O/ha (Pathirana &
Siriwardene, 1973).
Fertilizer requirements
It requires a balanced fertilizer as determined by soil tests.
It responds readily to nitrogen.
Genetics and reproduction
D. smutsii CPI16778A is almost completely sterile, but others,
e.g. CPI38869, are fertile. Hybridization is in progress (Hacker, 1976).
2n=18, 36 (Fedorov, 1974).
Seed production and harvesting
It does not produce much seed at Moree north-west New South
Wales (Darley, 1967).
Further reading
Pathirana & Siriwardene, 1973.
Value for erosion control
It has been recommended for revegetating abandoned cropland
in southern Africa.
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