Dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum)

Origin:	South America
Use:	Perennial, warm season, introduced grass that provides fair grazing for wildlife; good grazing for livestock.
Image:
Plant Description:
General	Characteristics of Dallisgrass
Life Span	Perennial
Growth Form	tall, decumbent, bunchgrass
Management:
Seeding Rate 40" Rows: Broadcast:	10 pounds pure live seed per acre 15 pounds pure live seed per acre
Planting Date	March and April
Planting Depth	less than 0.25 inch
pH requirement	4.9 to 7.5
Rainfall requirement	35 to 60 inches
Soil texture Sandy: Loam: Clay:	Low High High
Cold Tolerance:	High
General	Provides fair grazing for wildlife; good grazing for livestock.
ID Features:	Seedling: Leaves are narrow and rolled in the bud. Ligule is tall and membranous with a rounded or bluntly pointed tip. Auricles are absent. Blades of the first leaves may be softly hairy, but most lack hairs except for long silky hairs at the collar. Sheaths are flattened with a prominent midrib. Those of the first leaves are softly hairy and persist through the growing season. Later leaves have smooth sheaths. Mature Plant: Robust plants, with prostrate or ascending leaves arising from tillers and short, shallow rhizomes. Most vegetative characteristics are similar to those of seedling plants. Mature leaf blades are flat, 4 to 12 in (10 to 30 cm) long by 1/4 to 1/2 in (6 to 15 mm) wide, and lack hairs, except for a few long hairs at the collar. Leaf margins are finely hairy and rough. Sheaths lack hairs (except for the few, older leaves), are strongly compressed, with a prominent midvein, and may be tinged red with age. The collar is broad, light green, smooth, often with long hairs at the edges. Tillers are stout and do not root at the nodes.
Special Notes:	Dallisgrass is susceptible to ergot, which also reduces seed availability. Dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum) Information #1