Plants ratoon well and withstand repeated drastic defoliation, recovering fairly rapidly following rains. Green shoots often sprout from old, seemingly dry stems during the dry season, contributing to the volume of dry-season grazing. It is not advisable to top the stems after wet-season grazing. Manuring the field before sowing helps to establish a thick stand. The grass is usually benefitted by the addition of fertilizer P. Good responses to N and especially PN have been frequently observed in Australia and South Africa, but in Tanzania, when grown under low rainfall and on good soil, the benefit of N on C. ciliaris was only seen during exceptionally wet seasons.
Seed is harvested by hand, or mechanically.
Seed is not shed so readily as in some other tropical grasses so production and harvesting are somewhat easier. C. ciliaris is commonly used for reseeding denuded arid pastoral lands, and for improving worn-out pastures in Australia, India, Pakistan and E. Africa. This is a very important pasture grass in many parts of the tropical world, mainly because of its ease and low cost of establishment, comparatively high value and yield, extreme drought tolerance, stand persistance, and tolerance to crop pests, overgrazing and trampling by livestock. It is cultivated for permanent pastures and leys in Central and East Africa and northern Australia, and is an important forage grass in India. Fusarium heterosporum, Puccinia cenchri var .