Common Name:

General Information

Paspalum notatum is a creeping, perennial grass with culms that can grow 15 - 50cm long. Spreading by means of long, fibrous, rhizome-like stolons that root at the nodes to form new growth, the plant can form a dense mat of growth, especially when cut regularly as in a lawn[]. It is a deep-rooting plant, with roots that can descend 200 - 250cm into the soil[].
The plant is a good soil stabilizer and an excellent, hard-wearing lawn grass.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru.

Habitat

Open ground, savannahs, and pastures[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.20 m
Pollinators	Wind
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the tropical and subtropical zones, where it is found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 18 - 30°c, but can tolerate 5 - 36°c[]. When dormant, the roots of the plant can survive temperatures down to about -10°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 900 - 2,100mm, but tolerates 750 - 2,500mm[]. Although not ideally adapted to the lowland tropics, it has potential for use in plantation crops because of its tolerance to moderate shade[].
Grows best with a little shade, but can succeed in full sun and also in quite dense shade - it is very tolerant of shade and 35% higher yield has been measured under 50% shade than in full sunligh[, ]. Prefers a light soil, but succeeds in a wide range of soils, including those of low fertility[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6.2, tolerating 4.3 - 8.3[]. The plant has good drought tolerance; has been known to survive 36 days of flooding; and has some salt tolerance[].
Plants can invade pastures and become weeds[]. Viable seed is spread through dissemination in faeces[]. Poor seedling competitiveness limits the plant's spread, but once it is established, it spreads strongly by virtue of the stout ground-appressed stolons, and strong root system[].
Dry matter yields are usually between 3 - 8 tonnes per hectare, but can be up to 20 tonnes[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

Bahia grass is used to protect slopes and terraces from soil erosion[]. It is also used as a lawn grass and provides suitable material for compost or mulch[]. It is valuable for heavy-duty turf such as is needed on airports, highway shoulders, and grass roadways[].
The plant is used as a ley in four-year rotations to reduce nematode damage to tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) and peanuts (Arachis hypogaea)[].
It is used for erosion control. It is also used as a lawn grass and it

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - freshly harvested seed mostly has a high level of dormancy that breaks down over a period of up to 3 years. Hammer-milling dormant seed or treatment with sulphuric acid helps to break dormancy. However, machine-harvested seed from the previous season is usually suitable for sowing. Seedlings develop slowly, so to minimise competition, a clean, weed-free seedbed is required. Seed should be placed up to 1cm deep (or on the surface), and rolled with a heavy roller. Seed is normally sown at 2 - 5 kg/ha[].
Division of stolon pieces.

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