Abstract
Teff [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is the main staple food of Ethiopia. It ranks the first among cereals in the country in area coverage and second in the production volume; however, its productivity is almost stagnant. The Quncho (Dz-Cr-387) teff variety was sown during the main cropping season of 2017 at the Limo District, Southern Ethiopia. The objective of this research was to study the effect of four nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 32.5, 65 and 97.5 kg N/ha) and three inter-row spacings (15, 20 and 25 cm), to evaluate the effects on yield and yield components of teff and to identify the economically appropriate nitrogen rates and inter-row spacing that maximize the yield of teff. A factorial experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 12 treatment combinations and three replications. Phenological and yield-related parameters were measured. The main effects of N rate and inter-row spacing showed significant differences (P≤0.05) for all yield and yield components. The effects of N rate by inter-row spacing interaction were not significant for some traits except for the lodging index, biomass yield, grain yield, and straw yield and harvest index. Application of N rate at 97.5 kg/ha and inter-row spacing with 25 cm significantly (P≤0.01) increased grain yield of teff. Moreover, both N fertilizer rates and wider inter-row spacing increased the magnitudes of the important yield attributes including plant height, panicle length, number of effective tillers per plant, thousand seed weight, biomass yield and straw yield significantly (P≤0.01) and also inter-row spacing increased the magnitudes of important yield attributes significance (P≤0.05). From the results of the study, it is possible to conclude that increased application of nitrogen fertilizer rate and row spacing improves yield and yield components of teff. Therefore, the application of 97.5 kg N/ha and inter-row spacing of 25 cm gave maximum yield which can be recommended for the study area.
Highlights
Teff [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is among the main cereals of Ethiopia [1]
Farmers in Ethiopian highlands apply N fertilizer in the form of Urea at sub-optimal blanket rates, mostly only once at sowing, and this limits the potential productivity of cereal crops [13]
Application of nitrogen and row spacing significantly influenced most of the plant phenology, growth parameters, yield and yield components of teff
Summary
Teff [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is among the main cereals of Ethiopia [1]. It has the largest value in terms of both production and consumption in Ethiopia [2,3]. It is mostly used to prepare a spongy flatbread called “enjera”, which is consumed by about 70% of the Ethiopian people [4,5]. Besides being the most appreciated feed for cattle, is used to reinforce mud and plaster the walls of tukuls and local grain storage facilities called gottera [8,9,10]. It has got many prospects outside of Ethiopia due to its gluten freeness, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, animal feed and erosion control quality [6,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
