Weed
Dactyloctenium aegyptium is among the 20 most globally widespread weeds (Holm, 1977). It can be troublesome in crops such as peanuts, cotton, maize or dry-seeded rice (CABI, 2013; Chauhan, 2011; Holm, 1997). However, it is not considered a noxious or invasive species (CABI, 2013). It can be controlled through tillage that buries the seeds deeper than 10 cm, through the use of crop residues as mulch, and by chemical weedkillers (Chauhan, 2011).
Soil erosion control
Dactyloctenium aegyptium is used as a stabilizer of sandy soils in Australia and for erosion control elsewhere (Jacobs et al., 1993).