Teff an excellent hay crop

Teff is a quick annual summer-growing leafy grass which makes it a very good hay crop. It germinates within four or five days and can be ready for harvest in 65-75 days. Multiple cuts of high quality hay are possible. Teff hay is well known as a good food source for horses, but is also a valuable food source for other animals in the winter and can be used as a supplement for the finishing off of livestock.

Teff's popularity lies in the fact that it is a fine hay crop. After the cutting process, the material dries quickly which means it can be baled quickly. This reduces the chance that rain can damage the quality of the hay. Teff is adapted to most soil types and can be sown under dryland conditions in areas with an annual rainfall of 400 mm or more. The best production is achieved in areas with an annual rainfall of more than 600 mm. Teff is quick to establish and can be ready for hay-making within 65-75 days. Cut when ± 10% in flower. Cut before it starts to lodge – this will also benefit the regrowth of the next hay crop. Although teff is not normally used for grazing as it is relatively unpalatable, it can be used if feed is urgently needed. However, it makes excellent hay. On average the grass is cut twice, yielding about 4 tons of dry material from the first cut and 2 tons from the second cut.

Fertilisation and production:
Teff does not have specific preferences for any soil type, although it is sensitive to residual atrazine where it has been applied in a previous crop such as maize. This is especially true in cases where the clay percentage of soil is high. Teff is tolerant to soil acidity and can tolerate an acid saturation as high as 50%. Above a pH (KCl) of 4.5 there should be no limits to production as a result of acidity. The crop responds well to nitrogen (N) which is applied as top dressing. Where two or more hay cuttings are planned, two top-dressings of 50 kg nitrogen (180 kg LAN) each can be applied. The first top-dressing should be applied at or just after seedling emergence and the next one after the first cut. Optimum soil fertility levels are >15 mg P/ kg (Bray 1) and >100 mg K/ kg. Although the application of fertiliser promotes growth, teff's nutritional needs can be considered low. The application of potassium (K) is important and for every 10 tons of dry matter per hectare that is removed from the land, 150 kg K/ha should be applied.

Production:
The optimal planting time for teff is from September to early December as soon as the soil temperature reaches 15˚C. Seeds can be planted using a teff planter or broadcasted. To establish teff, which has very fine seed, 10-15 kg/ha seed can be used when planted in rows and 15-20 kg/ha when the seed is broadcasted. The crop grows actively during the summer months until about the end of March, but as soon as cooler autumn weather begins to set in, growth will stagnate until it dies off with the onset of winter and frost. A yield of 4-7.5 tons of dry material per hectare can be expected when sown early in the season. It is possible to harvest two to three cuttings per season. Teff hay has a high nutritional value. Depending on the growth stage when it is cut for hay production, the crude protein content can vary from 8-11%, the crude fibre from 30-35% and the digestibility between 55 and 60%. The best cutting stage to produce the highest percentage of protein content is just before the crop begins to form seeds. Because the crop grows densely, it is still advisable to cut it before it starts to lodge.

Teff cultivars:
Pannar markets two different teff cultivars, namely ROOIBERG and WITKOP. Both were bred by the ARC at Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal. Although the two cultivars produce a high volume of material, they are easily cut and raked into rows. Although both cultivars are ideally suited for making high-quality hay, WITKOP, which has good standability, can also be singled out as a grazing cultivar.

The characteristics of the two cultivars are very similar. The seed head (inflorescence) of ROOIBERG is light green and the grain is brown. It flowers later than SA Brown. It is very acceptable and popular with buyers as hay for horses. WITKOP is a good hay crop as well as a good grain cultivar with a high potential for grain production. The seed head is purple, but the grain is a creamy white. WITKOP produces wider leaves than other cultivars, with a more aggressive root system, which also makes it suitable for grazing. The better developed root system also makes it more drought tolerant and as a cover crop, the roots leave a large amount of organic matter in the soil. WITKOP has good regrowth and better rust resistance than SA Brown. Both cultivars produce a large amount of leaves, have strong stems and stay upright for longer than SA Brown.

Many livestock farmers follow a practice where two cuttings of teff are cut for hay production during the growing season, after which further regrowth is used as autumn grazing by their livestock. Wet fresh cut hay can be wrapped successfully to make bale silage. Because the crop is quite susceptible to trampling during the active growing season, it is advisable to fence off lands where pressure grazing is applied with a electric fence in smaller units.

Inquiries: Contact your nearest Pannar representative or agronomist or Petrus van Rooyen, Product Manager Forage Crops at 082 822 6438 or petrus.vanrooyen@pannar.co.za or visit Pannar's website at: www.pannar.com