HIERBA PANGOLA (Digitaria decumbens Stent.)

Abstract

Digitaria decumbens and specifically the pangola variety, has its origin in the valley of the Pangola River east of Transvaal. It is distributed in the Caribbean, Central America, the subtropical regions of North America, South America, Australia, Africa and Asia. In Cuba, after its introduction in 1950, it spread rapidly and came to occupy more than half a million hectares throughout the country. It is an aggressive grass and the production range in Cuba is between 3 and 25 t DM/ha/year for rainfed conditions without fertilization and with 400 kg of N/ha/year and irrigation, respectively. Because of its wide dissemination, the Pangola grass can be considered one of the most important pastures in animal husbandry.