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View crop Data sheet EcoPortEragrostis tef
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| BRIEF DESCRIPTION A grass and cereal crop with culms up to 120 cm high. USES The iron rich grain is ground to flour, and straw provides highly palatable fodder. It can also be grown as an ornamental. GROWING PERIOD Summer annual, require 65-90 days for hay crop and 90-150 days for grain crop. The ecotype Tseddia require 90 days and Hagaiz 150 days to mature. COMMON NAMES Tef, Teff, T'ef, Taf, Taffi. FURTHER INF Scientific synonyms: E. abyssinica, Poa abyssinica. Tef is native of Ethiopia. Two ecotypes are cultivated in Ethiopia: Teff Hagaiz with white seed and Teff Tseddia with brown. Tef requires a well-ploughed and pulverized soil for planting. It cannot tolerate intercropping and requires a well-weeded field during the growth period; all practices which leave the soil open and vulnerable to erosion. Photosynthesis pathway C4. In the tropics, it is suited for altitudes ranging from 1300-2800 m, but can grow from 500-3400 m. Only brown teff is grown above 2500 m. Forage yields of teff in South Dakota have ranged from 4 to 11 t/ha and yields of 15 t/ha have been recorded when under irrigation. Teff seed yields ranges from 0.2 to 2 t/ha. Strong winds can injure plants and are unfavorable to flowering. It is not suited to impermeable or very compact soils. | Sources |
| Grassland Index Skerman P 1990 pp 428-430 [TEMP, KTMP, RAIN, DRA, TEXT, FER] Duke J 1979 pp 95 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] Duke J 1975 pp 16 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] Bogdan A 1977 pp 141-142 [USE] Edwards S up pp 137 Kernick M 1961 pp 185-187 [RAIN, DRA, TEXT, LIMITS] Purseglove J 1972 pp 157-159 [USE, RAIN, TEMP, DRA, TEXT] Unso 1992 pp 64 Janick J 1991 pp 231 |