Growth and Yield Of Teff (Eragrostis tef) At Wide and Narrow Spacing Or Broadcast In The Southern Piedmont, Virginia.

Teff (Eragrostis tef) is a warm-season annual grass with a potential to improve summer forage and grain production in southeastern US.  However, its agronomic performance in the region is not well understood.  In this study, five Teff varieties; Virginia Tech ivory (VIT),  Virginia Tech brown (VTB), Quality Grass white (QGW) and Quality Grass brown (QGB),and Ethiopia brown (ETB) were evaluated for forage and seed yield when broadcasted, drilled at 15 or 30 cm rows  with or without seedbed compaction.  Forage samples (0.25 m^-2 quadrat) were clipped at boot stage and repeated at flowering for the regrowth.  Seed-heads from the unharvested sections were clipped, air dried, threshed and seeds obtained.  Seed bed compaction increased emergency by up to 50% in broadcast but did not affect forage or seed yield.  First cut forage yield was greatest (4300 kg ha^-1) for broadcast VTB and least (1100 kg ha^-1) for ETB drilled at 30 cm. For total yield, broadcasting or planting at 15 cm rows produced higher  yield than planting at 30 cm rows in VIT, VTB, and QCW  Seed yield was greatest (3500 kg ha^-1) for VTB at 15 cm and was only between 400 and 600 kg ha^-1 for QGW in all treatments and ETB in 15.cm spacing.  Results suggest that Teff at row spacing < 15 cm may have the potential to improve late season forage availability and may be an alternative grain crop in Virginia However, more studies are needed on forage quality and seed yield under different production management strategies.