Scout Info Kentucky IPM Pest Information Pages Large Crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis) Large crabgrass is a warm-season annual grass that occurs in many crops as well as in gardens and lawns. Stems are erect or spreading, smooth, often rooting at the nodes. In mature plants, stems lie on the ground at the base and ascend 1 to 3 feet to a seed head. Seed heads form as 4 to 6 branched spikelets in a whorl near the top of the stem. Pubescence or hairs are present on the blade and sheath of the leaf. The ligule of large crabgrass is membranous, 1-2 mm long, and with uneven teeth on its margin. Large crabgrass seeds germinate in late spring and grow well in dry, hot weather. After a killing frost, the presence of large crabgrass will create brown or bare patches in lawns.

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