Teff (Eragrostis tef) production constraints on Vertisols in Ethiopia: farmers' perceptions and evaluation of low soil zinc as yield-limiting factor

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of Ethiopia with the three study sites. The major areas with Vertisols are in grey (FAO et al. 1998). Note that Vertisols in the Hatsebo study site are not in what is considered a main Vertisol area but have been studied and considered true Vertisols (Gebretsadikan et al. 2009).

Figure 2. Average monthly rainfall (solid lines and squares), actual monthly rainfall in 2008 (bars) and estimated potential evapotranspiration (dashed lines and triangles) for (a) Ude, (b) Hatsebo, and (c) Selam Bikalisi. Arrows indicate teff sowing (solid) and harvest (dashed) in 2008.

Table 1. Description of the study sites

	Site
	Ude	Hatsebo	Selam Bikalisi
Region	Oromia	Tigray	Tigray
District	Ada liben	Laelay Michew	Alamata
Altitude (m above sea level)	1886	2083	1500
Latitude, longitude	8°40′N, 39°01′E	14°50′N, 38°40′E	12°23′N, 39°33′E
Average annual rainfall over past 20 years (mm)	859	763	782
Mean maximum temperature over past 20 years (°C)	27	28	30
Mean minimum temperature over past 20 years (°C)	12	11	15

Table 2. Soil properties of teff fields on Vertisols from the participating farmers

Soil parameters	Site
	Ude	Hatsebo	Selam Bikalisi
pHwater (1:2.5)	6.8 ± 0.1	7.8 ± 0.1	8.0 ± 0.1
Organic carbon (%)	1.3 ± 0.1	0.8 ± 0.0	1.2 ± 0.1
P-Olsen (mg kg^−1)	12 ± 2	11 ± 2	6 ± 1
DTPA-Zn (mg kg^−1)	0.92 ± 0.07	0.59 ± 0.02	0.54 ± 0.08
Clay (%)	57 ± 1	58 ± 1	41 ± 1
Data represent means ± standard error (n = 10).
P-Olsen, available phosphorous using procedure by Olsen et al. (1954).
DTPA-Zn, Zinc (Zn) determined by diethylene triamine pentaacetate extraction (Lindsay and Novell, 1978).

Table 3. Summary description of farming systems as provided by the participating farmers at the three sites (n = 10 per site)

Descriptor	Site
	Ude	Hatsebo	Selam Bikalisi
Farming system	Cereal/legume-livestock	Cereal/legume-livestock	Sorghum/teff-livestock
Major crops	Teff, wheat, chickpea, faba bean, grass pea and lentil	Teff, wheat, barley, chickpea, faba bean, grass pea, fenugreek, field pea and lentil	Sorghum and teff
Major livestock	Cattle, sheep, goat and donkey	Cattle, sheep, goat and donkey	Cattle, goat, sheep and donkey
Crop rotation	Yes	Yes	No
Rotation pattern on Vertisols	Year 1: Chickpea or grass pea Year 2: Teff or wheat	Year 1: Chickpea or fenugreek or grass pea Year 2: Teff or wheat	No
Rotation pattern on others soils	Year 1: Faba bean or lentil Year 2: Teff or wheat	Year 1: Faba bean or lentil or field pea Year 2: Teff or wheat or barley	No
Crop residue removal	Yes	Yes	Yes
Average own land holding (ha)	2.3 ± 0.2	1.1 ± 0.2	0.8 ± 0.1
Average operated land 2008† (ha)	3.7 ± 0.4	1.7 ± 0.2	1.6 ± 0.2
Average plot size of teff fields on Vertisols 2008 (ha)	0.74 ± 0.10	0.38 ± 0.06	0.40 ± 0.05
Average livestock holding, TLU‡	8.5 ± 1.0	3.4 ± 0.6	3.6 ± 0.8
†Own plus rented or shared land.
‡Tropical livestock unit.

Figure 3. Initial individual farmers’ identification of teff production constraints at the three investigated sites.

Table 4. Classification of the different teff fields on Vertisols during the 2008 cropping season as provided by the 10 participating farmers per site

Plot characteristics	Class	Site†
		Ude (28)	Hatsebo (18)	Selam Bikalisi (21)
Soil fertility	Unfertile	0	7	1
	Medium	3	3	9
	Fertile	25	8	11
Production objective	Market	23	6	1
	Home consumption	2	8	9
	Both purposes	3	4	11
†Figures in parentheses indicate the number of teff fields evaluated.

Table 5. Farmers’ soil fertility management to teff fields on Vertisols during the 2008 cropping season

Type	Site†
	Ude (28)	Hatsebo (18)	Selam Bikalisi (21)
Urea	73 ± 4 (28)	86 ± 10 (18)	0
DAP‡	101 ± 8 (28)	82 ± 11 (18)	0
Compost	930 (1)	2000 (3)	1000 (1)
Manure	0	2000 (1)	1160 ± 275 (6)
Data (in kg ha^−1) represent means ± standard error.
†Figures in parentheses indicate the number of teff fields evaluated.
‡Diammonium phosphate (46% P2O5).

Table 6. Main effects of zinc fertilizer and site on grain and straw yields of teff studied on 10 farmers’ Vertisol fields per site

Independent variable	Level		Yield (kg ha^−1)
			Grain	Straw
Zinc	Control		1675	3921
	8 kg ha^−1		1914	4515
		P-Value	<0.001	<0.001
		SED†	57	151
Site	Ude		2002	5256
	Hatsebo		1853	4643
	Selam Bikalisi		1528	2756
		P-Value	0.08	<0.001
		SED†	203	383
Zinc × site		P-Value	0.86	0.55
†SED, standard error of the differences.

Table 7. Matrix showing yield effects for both grain and straw of the application of 8 kg zinc (Zn) ha⁻¹ to teff plots in a participatory field experiment on 10 farmers fields each in three sites comparing measured effects and effects as indicated by farmers on the basis of visual inspection prior to actual harvesting

	Measured	Indicated by farmers
		Positive	No effect	Negative
Grain	Positive†	9	3	2
	No effect	10	3	3
	Negative†	0	0	0
Straw	Positive†	9	2	2
	No effect	10	4	2
	Negative†	1	0	0
†More than 198 kg ha^−1 and 523 kg ha^−1 difference for grain and straw, respectively, between the Zn-fertilized and control plot (i.e. 2 × standard error of the differences of the treatment by location interaction effect at the same level of location in the Zn fertilization experiment).

Gebretsadikan, H , Haile, M , and Yamoah, CF , 2009. Tillage frequency, soil compaction and N-fertilizer rate effects on yield of teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trotter) in Central Zone of Tigray, North Ethiopia , Momona Eth. J. Sci. 1 (2009), pp. 82–92.

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