Tillage and sowing options for enhancing productivity and profitability of teff in a sub-tropical highland environment

Abstract

Despite teff being the major food crop cultivated in Ethiopia, its productivity remained very low (< 1500 kg ha−1) mainly due to a traditional crop management practice. Little or no evidence is available for the comparative performance of existing agronomic practices of teff. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of different tillage, sowing, and soil compaction practices on productivity and economic attributes of teff. The study was conducted in the 2018 and 2019, in the highland agro-ecological zone of the Upper Blue Nile basin of Ethiopia. Treatments included combinations of two tillage practices (reduced and conventional), two sowing methods (row and broadcast), and two compaction options (with and without trampling). Tillage practice did not significantly influence grain yield in either year, but broadcast sowing gave higher grain and straw yields than row sowing in both years. Trampling gave higher grain and straw yields than no trampling. Reduced tillage, row sowing, and no trampling resulted in a significantly higher weed density than the corresponding farmer practices of conventional tillage, broadcast sowing, and trampling. Tillage and trampling methods did not significantly affect lodging, but lodging was significantly lower in row sowing than in broadcast sowing. The partial-budget analysis showed that most treatments incorporating conventional tillage were generally less profitable, as they gave less net benefit and more total variable cost. Therefore, reduced tillage + broadcast sowing−trampling, reduced tillage + broadcast sowing + trampling, reduced tillage + row sowing + trampling, and reduced tillage + row sowing−trampling were profitable, with net benefit values of 5983, 5367, 4913, and 4361 USD ha−1, respectively. The trampling was less important as it requires more labor or draft power. Therefore, we recommend the combined use of reduced tillage + row sowing without trampling as the best management practices for teff production. Row sowing is more appropriate for easy farm operation in mechanized teff production and farmers with adequate family labor. We conclude that reduced tillage and row sowing without trampling are promising practices to achieve reasonable yields at minimum cost, provided they are integrated with appropriate weed control.