• Latin name
• Family
• Common name(s)
• Synonym(s)
• Geographical distribution
• Morphology
• Biology and ecology
• Agricultural importance
• Management
• Selected references
• Contributors

Dactyloctenium aegyptium

Dactyloctenium aegyptium is a common weed of field margins and paths in dryland areas (IRRI).

Latin name

Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd.

Family

Poaceae 

Common name(s)

Crowfoot grass, Egyptian grass, beach wiregrass

Synonym(s)

Cynosurus aegyptius L. (basionym), D. aegyptium (L.) P. Beauv. (accepted), D. mucronatum (Michx.) Willd., Eleusine aegypta (L.) Desf., Chloris mucronata Michx.

Geographical distribution

South and Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Rest of the world: Mauritania, New Guinea, Niger, Nicaragua, Peru, Sudan, Trinidad, West Africa, and West Polynesia.

Morphology

Annual or rarely perennial grass, 15—60—cm—tall, loosely tufted.

Stem: creeping at base; flowering culms ascending or erect, filled with pith and hairless.

Leaf: flat or wavy, weak, up to 20—cm—long; both surfaces are sparingly hairy; sheath compressed, glabrous; ligule very short, white, membranous.

Inflorescence: two to seven digitately arranged spikes, often purplish, 1—5—cm—long and 5—7—mm thick; spikelets numerous, crowded, and spreading, 3—mm—long with 3 or 4 flowers.

Biology and ecology

Grows in waste places, field margins, in lightly shaded or sunny areas, drains, and in association with most upland crops. It is propagated mainly by seeds and in warmer regions it flowers year-round.

Agricultural importance

A widespread and common weed of rainfed areas.

Management

Cultural control: hand weeding is effective.

Chemical control: Pendimethalin, oxadiazon as preemergence treatments, or cyhalofop, fenoxaprop, or propanil applied at 3—5 leaf stage of the weed.

Selected references

Galinato MI, Moody K, Piggin CM. 1999. Upland rice weeds of South and Southeast Asia. Manila (Philippines): International Rice Research Institute. 156 p.

Holm LG, Pancho JV, Herberger JP, Plucknett DL. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. New York (USA): John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 391 p.

Holm LG, Plucknett DL, Pancho, JV, Herberger JP. 1977. The world's worst weeds: distribution and biology. Honolulu, Hawaii (USA): The University Press of Hawaii. 609 p.

Hsu C. 1978. Gramineae (Poaceae). Flora of Taiwan 5:373-783.

Moody K. 1989. Weeds reported in rice in South and Southeast Asia. Manila (Philippines): International Rice Research Institute. 442 p.

Pancho JV, Obien SR. 1995. Manual of ricefield weeds in the Philippines. Muñoz., Nueva Ecija (Philippines): Philippine Rice Research Institute. 543 p.

Soerjani M, Kostermans AJGH, Tjitrosoepomo G. 1987. Weeds of rice in Indonesia. Jakarta (Indonesia): Balai Pustaka. 716 p.

Plant profile for Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd. L. in Plants Database (http://plants.usda.gov).

Contributors

JLA Catindig, RT Lubigan, and DE Johnson