The herbage is killed by frost but soil must be frozen to kill the rhizome. Thriving on poorly drained soils to dry sandy soils, it grows best in rich well-drained soils. In Uganda, napier grasslands are considered the fire subclimax to evergreen forest. It is grown in rows and cultivated for highest yields. These factors were increased in 60 day regrowth.
Yields are higher under longer than shorter photoperiods.
Stems of elephant grass are primarily lignocellulose with virtually no juice sugars. High N is required for high biomass yields. Stewart et al. Aegerita penniseti, Apiospora camptospora, Armillaria mellea, Beniowskia pennisetae, B. sphaeroidea, Cercospora fusimaculans, C. penniseti, C. sorghii, Didymosphaeria panici, Gloeocerospora sorghii, Helminthosporium ocellum, H. sacchari, Lacellinopsis spiralis, Leptosphaeria penniseti, L. penniseticola, Myrothecium gramineum, M. striatisporum, Nigrospora oryzae, Periconia sacchari, Phyllachora penniseti, Piricularia grisea, Puccinia penniceti, Sclerospora graminicola, Septoria penniseti and Stagonospora penniseti. It is also attacked by the bacterium, Pectobacterium carotovorum, and several diseases as Pseudo-Fiji Disease, Chlorotic streak, a disease of sugarcane, and leaf mottle virus.