The Agronomy of Tef

By Solomon Chanyalew and Kebebew Assefa

10 October, 2013Addis Ababa

Outline Past research findings/recommendations Results of two seasons experiments

Sowing method by seed rate Planting method Planting depth and row spacing Spacing trial for hill planting Tentative recommendations

Advantages of row planting

Tef is cultivated in much the same way as wheat and barley

Depending on the location and maturity of the cultivar tef is grown during the main growing season between July and November, and also during the small rainy season (Belg)

It is mainly cultivated as a monocrop, but occasionally under a multiple cropping system (intercroped with rapeseed, safflower and sunflower or relay-cropped with maize and sorghum

It is also cropped sequentially in a crop-rotation system in the mid- and high-altitude areas after chickpea, field pea and faba bean

1. Past research findings/recommendations

Seed bed preparation: tef field is ploughed two to five times depending on the soil type, weed conditions and waterlogging.

Heavy clay soils and fields with high weed populations receive ploughing more frequently than loam or sandy soils and those with fewer weeds.

Vertisols in areas where there is a problem of waterlogging are ploughed more than those without in order to open drainage furrows.

Past research recommendations….(cont’d)

Under most farmers production system, tef seeds are sown on the surface of the soil and left uncovered or sometimes covered very lightly

Under moisture stress conditions packing the seedbed before sowing promotes germination and increases grain yield through increasing stand establishment

Vertisols that suffer from soil crusting moderate packing of the seedbed is useful to enhance stand establishment

Past research recommendations….(cont’d)

Seedbed packing is done before sowing tef to make the seedbed firm, prevent the soil surface from drying quickly, assist germination of seeds and to free the seedbed from weeds.

No additional positive advantage from packing the seedbed in areas with a reliable and sufficient amount of rainfall

Planting depth: Good emergence from depth of 5-20 mm than surface or dipper than 20 mm

Tef germinates and establishes faster on Andosols than on Vertisols

Past research recommendations….(cont’d)

Seed rate: 15-50 kg of seeds are sown/ha under different conditions 25-30 kg/ha seeds are recommended for broadcast sowing Could be done with lower seed rate if a manually or motor- driven broadcaster or drill is available.

Past research recommendations….(cont’d)

Fertilizer application: Systematic studies on the fertilizer requirements of tef under varying conditions and in various regions need further investigation

60kgN and 26kgP2O5 (Vertisols) and 40kgN and 26kg P2O5kg per ha (Andosols)

Weeding: It is best to start with a weed-free and clean field and with clean tef seeds

Hand-weeding once at early tillering stage is ideal and adequate, if the weed population is low

Second weeding at stem-elongation stage should be done if the infestation is high

Past research recommendations….(cont’d)

Pre-sowing and post-emergence herbicides available for the control of weeds

Weed competition causes about 52% crop losses

In general, the use of improved and appropriate agronomic practices and cropping systems would greatly contribute to overcoming production constraints and improving the productivity of tef.

Past research recommendations….(cont’d)

2. Results of two seasons experiments

No. Activities Methodology Locat-ion

1 Sowing method and seed rate trial

RCBD, with 3 rep& 12 entry, plot=9m2

3

2 Planting method RCBD with 3 rep & 10 entry, plot size =9m2

3

3 Planting depth & row spacing

RCBD with 3 rep & 12 entry, plot size=9m2

1

4 Spacing by hill planting trial

RCBD with 3rep & 12 entry plot size=9m2

1

2.1. Sowing method by seed rate

No significant differences among the treatment combinations observed for all traits assessed

Although not significantly different, row sowing with 20 cm row spacing at 20 kg/ha of seed rate resulted in the highest grain yield (2.6 t) followed by 25 kg/ha row sowing (2.5 t/ha)

Broadcasting at 25kg/ha gave the highest shoot biomass yield (17.4 t/ha)

Table 1. Sowing methods by seed rate at Debre Zeit during the 2011-2013 main season( combined over two years)

Treatments DTM PH PALLodging index

Shoot Biomass (Kg/ha)

Grain Yield(Kg/ha)

Sowing methods Seed rate(kg/ha)

Broad casting 2.5 105 46.83 109.03 68.83 8861 1709.65 106 45.77 105.93 56 8079 1701.510 106 48.63 116.87 64.33 13625 239815 106 49.07 115.3 71.17 14694 2397.220 105 48.13 115.2 73.83 16824 2467.425 106 49.27 112.07 73.83 17375 2364.8

Row sowing 2.5 106 45.2 105.9 68.67 7255 1403.25 105 49 113.47 64.5 10542 1754.510 106 49.37 115.57 69.83 14069 2343.915 105 48.63 116.6 76 16111 2411.520 105 49.03 118.87 75.33 16810 2622.425 106 49.1 115.2 70.83 16727 2528.3

Means of sowing method(over all Seed rats)Broad casting 106 48.37 114.29 69.03 13711.42 2267Row sowing 105 48.02 112.37 69.83 13117.29 2083.09

Means of seed rates( over all sowing methods )treatments2.5 106 48.85 115.98 68.58 14562.51 2365.15 106 47.17 111.93 73.25 13664.35 2190.7510 105 48 112.45 70.75 12312.5 2110.8315 105 48.47 111.05 68.67 11641.21 2084.3520 106 48.02 113.02 64.00 12923.61 2013.725 106 48.67 115.57 71.33 15381.94 2286.4

Mean 106 48.19 113.3 69.43 13414.35 2175.19SEM(±) 0.51 0.35 0.91 1.3 727.84 79.94LSD (P = 0.05) 0.0722 0.9242 0.9054 0.1910 0.8792 0.9966

CV 1.41 6.08 6.24 14.84 27.75 23.71

Sowing method by seed rate

Row planted and not lodged Row planted and partly lodged

2.2. Planting method experiment

Uniform seed rate of 5 kg/ha for broadcasting and row sowing and 3 seeds/hill for hill planting

Significant differences were observed for Shoot biomass and grain yield

Row sowing with 10 cm row spacing at 5 kg/ha seed rate showed the highest grain yield and shoot biomass

Transplanting (20cm b/n rowsx15cm b/n plant) showed the lowest lodging index values (Table15)

2.2. Planting method experimentTreatment LOGI SB kg/ha Gy

(kg/ha)Broadcasting @ 5 kg/ha 64.83 16903 2489.8RS@5with 20 cm row spacing 72.33 19653 2440.6

RS@5with 15 cm row spacing 67.50 17273 2320.0

RS@5with 10cm row spacing 71.33 21861 2621.3

Hill planting (3seeds)(20cm x 20cm) 64.00 8495 1505.7

Hill planting (3seeds) (20 cm x 15cm) 59.5 6440 1344.6

Hill planting (3seeds)(20cm x10 cm) 65.00 9870 1613.3

Transplanting (20cmb/n rowsx10cm b/n plant) 49.00 15468 2208.9

Transplanting (20 cm b/n rows x15cm b/n plants) 46.33 13532 2236.9Transplanting (20cmb/nrowsx20cm b/n plants) 56.33 12722 2181.7LSD P(0.05) 0.0342 <0.0001 0.0001

CV %) 20.77 37.33 23.47SEM (±) 2.03 1169.31 84.36

Mean 61.62 14221.76 2096.28

Results of Planting Method Experiment

Lodging incidence as affected by planting methods

Early stage Grain filling stage

2.3. Planting depth and row spacing

Results: Uniform seed rate of 5 kg/ha was used.

No significant differences were observed for recorded traits among

treatment combinations.

Highest grain yields were obtained from treatment combinations of 20

cm row spacing at 3 cm sowing depth and highest shoot biomass was

obtained from treatment combination of 10 cm row spacing at 3cm depth .

Regarding sowing depth, 0 cm and 3 cm appeared appropriate but deeper

sowing resulted in poor stand establishment

Table 3. Mean Lodging index ,and shoot biomass and grain yield of tef as affected by row spacing and planting depth on black soil at Debre Zeit during the 2011-2013 main seasonTreatments DTM PAL PLH Lodging index SB (Kg/ha) GY (Kg/ha)

Row Spacing Sowing Depth

10 0 104.33 46.1 106.6 73.33 14620 22773 104.33 44.9 106.5 68.17 15653 1979.3

5 103.17 47.53 110.97 74.67 14093 2149.615 0 104 45.8 108.57 66.83 13167 2011.3

3 104 47.43 110.3 69.33 12736 1866.75 104 45.37 108.83 68 13949 1811.7

20 0 103.83 45.07 101.43 64.33 12394 2130.4

3 104 47.5 106.03 69.83 13741 2404.35 104.67 45.97 105.97 67.83 12685 2291.9

25 0 104 45.63 111.57 80.17 12218 1866.73 104 46.03 102.63 65.83 11417 1712.6

5 104 45.17 106.23 69.83 10093 1416.3Means of sowing depth(over all row –spacing)

0 104.25 45.58 105.67 69.75 13100.69 2066.763 103.96 46.06 108.88 68.54 13369.21 1925.005 103.88 46.48 106.87 71.25 12721.06 1995.05

Means of Row Spacing( over all Sowing depth )treatments

10 103.72 46.4 68.78 12396.60 1922.9615 104.06 46.02 72.67 13598.77 1973.7720 104.22 45.61 70.78 13473.77 2060.5625 104.11 46.13 67.12 12785.49 2025.12

Mean 104..028 46.04 107.14 69.85 13063.66 1995.602SEM(±) 0.33 0.32 0.8 1.03 907.83 67.18LSD (P<0.05)

0.6864 0.1786 0.9196 0.41 0.9316 0.6983

CV 1.29 5.85 5.87 10.68 23.95 25.84

Results of Row Spacing by Planting Depth

2.4. Spacing trial for hill planting

Results:

Statistically significant differences (P≤0.05) among treatments were observed for lodging index, shoot biomass and grain yield

Highest shoot biomass yield (10259 kg/ha) was obtained from 10 cm row spacing by 5 cm intra-row spacing treatment

15 cm row spacing X 5 cm and intra row spacing gave highest (2965 kg/ha) grain yield compared to other treatments.

Treatments Lodging index Shoot biomass (kg/ha) Grain yield (kg/ha)Inter-row spacing (cm) Intra-row spacing (cm)

10 5 86.00 10259.2 2685.2010 77.0 8222.23 2385.1015 69.33 8851.80 2608.1320 63.33 7074.07 2319.60

15 5 76.00 9777.70 2965.2010 70.00 8555.53 2480.0015 65.00 6333.30 2115.5720 61.00 7000.00 2193.30

20 5 76.00 8851.83 2207.7010 64.67 8555.53 2695.5015 59.00 6814.80 2098.1720 54.67 5111.10 1789.60

Means of intra-row spacing (Over all inter-row spacings)5 79.44 9629.92 2686.0410 70.67 8444.43 2518.6315 64.44 7333.32 2273.9620 59.67 6395.06 2100.83

Means of inter-row spacing (Over all intra-row spacings)10 74.08 8601.85 2548.3215 68.00 7916.66 2438.5220 63.58 7333.32 2197.77

Mean 68.55 7950.60 2394.86SEM (±) 7.08 1035.46 285.72LSD (P< 0.05) 9.35 1368.08 377.50CV% 12.65 15.95 14.61

Table 4. Mean lodging index, shoot biomass and grain yield of tef as affected by inter- and intra-row spacing on black soil at Debre Zeit during the 2011/12 main season

Spacing Trial for Hill Planting

Tentative conclusion/recommendations

Row spacing: 20cm row spacing seems optimal for better shoot biomass and grain yields as it allow carrying out agronomic management practices such as weeding and thinning. In addition, it gives enough room for better resource utilization by plants avoiding competition.

- manually or motor-driven seed driller should be in place

Planting depth: 0cm and 3cm appears acceptable depth because going beyond 3cm depth could cause poor germination due to failure of seedlings to emerge out from deep soil. Seed rate: 10kg/ha is optimal

Advantages of row planting

Ease of management Reduced seed rate Efficient fertilizer utilization Contribution for reduced lodging incidence

Thank You