TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimizing sowing depth of tef for irrigated mediterranean conditions
T2 - From laboratory to field studies
AU - Ben-Zeev, Shiran
AU - Kerzner, Shane
AU - Rabinovitz, Onn
AU - Saranga, Yehoshua
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Developing new crops adapted to arid conditions is a promising approach to meet the increasing demand for food production under expanding aridity. Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is a C4 cereal crop cultivated mainly in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, and known for its high resilience to stressful environments. Due to their tiny size, tef seeds are traditionally sown by broadcasting and lightly covering with soil. Under semiarid Mediterranean conditions, a deeper sowing may guarantee seedling establishment while saving on irrigation water. The objective of this study was, therefore, to determine the effects of sowing depth on tef emergence, development, lodging, and productivity. Tef seeds were sown at different depths in test tubes and pots, and in two field experiments. In tubes and pots, time from sowing to emergence increased about twofold and emergence rate decreased in the deepest sowing (3 cm) treatment compared to controls (0 cm). In the pot and field trials, deep sowing (3 cm) significantly reduced plant height, shoot and root biomass, and lodging. Sowing depths of 1–2 cm allowed successful plant establishment while not exacting penalties on plant emergence or development; hence this range appears to be optimal for sowing irrigated tef.
AB - Developing new crops adapted to arid conditions is a promising approach to meet the increasing demand for food production under expanding aridity. Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is a C4 cereal crop cultivated mainly in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, and known for its high resilience to stressful environments. Due to their tiny size, tef seeds are traditionally sown by broadcasting and lightly covering with soil. Under semiarid Mediterranean conditions, a deeper sowing may guarantee seedling establishment while saving on irrigation water. The objective of this study was, therefore, to determine the effects of sowing depth on tef emergence, development, lodging, and productivity. Tef seeds were sown at different depths in test tubes and pots, and in two field experiments. In tubes and pots, time from sowing to emergence increased about twofold and emergence rate decreased in the deepest sowing (3 cm) treatment compared to controls (0 cm). In the pot and field trials, deep sowing (3 cm) significantly reduced plant height, shoot and root biomass, and lodging. Sowing depths of 1–2 cm allowed successful plant establishment while not exacting penalties on plant emergence or development; hence this range appears to be optimal for sowing irrigated tef.
KW - Eragrostis tef
KW - Lodging
KW - New crop
KW - Sowing depth
KW - Teff
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85109095322&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/agronomy10121983
DO - 10.3390/agronomy10121983
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AN - SCOPUS:85109095322
SN - 2073-4395
VL - 10
JO - Agronomy
JF - Agronomy
IS - 12
M1 - 1983
ER -