Effect of Different Row Spacings on the Yield and Some Yield Characteristics of Teff (Eragrostis teff) Crop Grown under S？ke Ecological Conditions

Objective: This study was conducted on a private farmer field (S？ke-Ayd？n) which was under typical Mediterranean climatic conditions in 2014 and 2015, to evaluate the influence of different row spacing on the productivity of teff crop. Material and Methods: In the experiment, seeds of teff genotype ‘Dessie’ were used as crop material. Field experiment was designed with three replications and, effects of four row spacing (17.5, 35.0, 52.5 and 70.0 cm) were investigated. Some traits were tested in the experiment such as number of plant at harvest, plant height, harvest index, total grain and dry matter (DM) yields, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) contents. Results: Two years average results indicated that there were significant differences among the row spacings on above-mentioned characteristics. On teff crop, two and three harvests were done for obtaining grain and herbage yield during the growing season, respectively. Total grain and DM yields increased by decreasing row spacing. The narrow rows provided higher forage quality compare to the wider rows. Conclusion: 17.5 cm row spacing can be recommended for obtaining teff grain and forage production for the region