Editing Teff (section)

==Cultivation==
[[File:The Teff Harvest, Northern Ethiopia (3131617016).jpg|thumb|Traditional teff harvesting in Ethiopia, October 2007]]

The cultivation of teff is labor-intensive and the small size of its seeds makes it difficult to handle and transport without loss.<ref name="brit" /> In Ethiopia, teff is mostly produced during the main rain season, between July and November. It is known as an "emergency crop" because it is planted late in the season, when the temperatures are warmer, and most other crops have already been planted.<ref name="Miller2009">Miller, Don (2009) [http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/+symposium/2009/files/talks/09WAS19_Miller_Tef.pdf "Teff Grass: A New Alternative"], UC Davis, California</ref> Teff germination generally occurs 3–12 days after sowing. Optimal germination temperatures range from 15 to 35&nbsp;°C; below 10&nbsp;°C, germination almost does not occur.<ref name="Miller2009" /> Teff is traditionally sown or broadcast by hand, on firm, humid soil.<ref name="Mott">Mottaleb, K.A. & Rahut, D.B. (2018). Household production and consumption patterns of Teff in Ethiopia. Agribusiness, 34, 668–684.</ref> Usual sowing density ranges from 15 to 20&nbsp;kg/ha, though farmers can sow up to 50&nbsp;kg/ha, because the seeds are hard to spread equally and a higher sowing density helps to reduce weed competition at the early stage.<ref name="Miller2009" /> Seeds are either left at the soil surface or slightly covered by a thin layer of soil, but must not be planted at a depth greater than 1&nbsp;cm. The field can be subsequently rolled.<ref name="Brink">Brink, M. (Martin), Belay, G. & Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (Program). (2006). Cereals and pulses. PROTA Foundation.</ref> Sowing can also be done mechanically; row planting reduces [[lodging (agriculture)|lodging]].{{Cn|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Tef in Ethiopia 01.jpg|thumb|Field of teff]]
Recommended [[fertilization]] doses are 25–60&nbsp;kg/ha for N, and 10–18&nbsp;kg/ha for P. Teff responds more to [[nitrogen]] than to [[phosphorus]]; thus, high nitrogen inputs increase the biomass production and size of the plants, thereby increasing lodging.<ref name=Vdelden>Van Delden, S.H., Vos, J., Ennos, A.R. & Stomph, T.J. (2010). Analysing lodging of the panicle bearing cereal teff (Eragrostis tef). New Phytol., 186, 696–707.</ref> To avoid this, farmers can decrease nitrogen input, cultivate teff after a [[legume]] crop or adjust sowing time so that the rains have stopped when the crop reaches heading stage. In Ethiopia, teff is commonly used in crop rotations with other [[cereal]]s and [[legume]]s.<ref name=Brink />

[[File:Ethiopie-Battage du teff (4).jpg|thumb|Teff threshed by using animals walking on the harvest]]
Teff is harvested 2–6 months after sowing, when the vegetative parts start to turn yellow. If teff is harvested past its maturation, seeds will fall off, especially in windy or rainy weather conditions.<ref name=Miller2009 /> In Ethiopia, harvest lasts from November to January; harvest is usually done manually, with sickles. Farmers cut the plants at the soil surface, pile them up in the field and transport them to the [[threshing]] area.<ref>Tefera, H.; Belay, G., 2006. Eragrostis tef (Zuccagni) Trotter. In: Brink, M.; Belay, G. (eds), PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa/Ressources végétales de l'Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands</ref> Teff is traditionally threshed by using animals walking on the harvest. Alternatively, some farmers rent threshing machines used for other cereals.<ref name="Mott" /> The seeds are easy to store, as they are resistant to most pests during storage. Teff seeds can stay viable several years if direct contact with humidity and sun is avoided.<ref name="Ketema1997" /> Average yields in Ethiopia reach around two [[tonne]]s per ha. One single inflorescence can produce up to 1000 seeds, and one plant up to 10,000.<ref>Gebre, E., Gugsa, L., Schlüter, U. & Kunert, K. (2013). Transformation of tef (Eragrostis tef) by Agrobacterium through immature embryo regeneration system for inducing semi-dwarfism. South African J. Bot., 87, 9–17.</ref> Moreover, teff offers some promising opportunities for [[plant breeding|breeding]] programs: the first draft of the ''Eragrostis tef'' genome was published in 2014 and research institutes have started selecting for more resistant varieties.<ref name="Cannarozzi">{{cite journal |last=Cannarozzi |first=G.|title=Genome and transcriptome sequencing identifies breeding targets in the orphan crop tef (''Eragrostis tef'') |journal=BMC Genomics |volume=15 |pages=581 |year=2014 |issue=1 |doi=10.1186/1471-2164-15-581|display-authors=etal |pmid=25007843 |pmc=4119204 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1996, the [[United States National Research Council|US National Research Council]] characterized teff as having the "potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare."<ref name=nrc/>

===Challenges and prospects===
The major challenges in teff production are its low yield and high susceptibility to [[Lodging (agriculture)|lodging]]. Efforts to conventionally breed teff towards higher yields started in the 1950s and led to an average annual increase in yield of 0.8%.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Assefa|first1=K.|last2=Yu|first2=J.-K.|last3=Zeid|first3=M.|last4=Belay|first4=G.|last5=Tefera|first5=H.|last6=Sorrells|first6=M. E.|date=2011|title=Breeding tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) trotter]: conventional and molecular approaches|journal=Plant Breeding|language=en|volume=130|issue=1|pages=1–9|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0523.2010.01782.x|issn=1439-0523}}</ref> However, no considerable improvements concerning the susceptibility of lodging have been made, due mainly to low demand outside of [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]].{{Cn|date=June 2021}}

High-yielding varieties, such as ''Quencho'', were widely adopted by farmers in Ethiopia.<ref name=":0" /> [[Sequencing]] of the teff [[genome]] improved breeding,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cannarozzi|first1=Gina|last2=Plaza-Wüthrich|first2=Sonia|last3=Esfeld|first3=Korinna|last4=Larti|first4=Stéphanie|last5=Wilson|first5=Yi Song|last6=Girma|first6=Dejene|last7=de Castro|first7=Edouard|last8=Chanyalew|first8=Solomon|last9=Blösch|first9=Regula|last10=Farinelli|first10=Laurent|last11=Lyons|first11=Eric|date=2014-07-09|title=Genome and transcriptome sequencing identifies breeding targets in the orphan crop tef (Eragrostis tef)|journal=BMC Genomics|volume=15|issue=1|pages=581|doi=10.1186/1471-2164-15-581|issn=1471-2164|pmc=4119204|pmid=25007843 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and an [[ethyl methanesulphonate]] (EMS)-mutagenized population was then used to breed the first semi-dwarf lodging-tolerant teff line, called ''kegne''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jöst|first1=Moritz|last2=Esfeld|first2=Korinna|last3=Burian|first3=Agata|last4=Cannarozzi|first4=Gina|last5=Chanyalew|first5=Solomon|last6=Kuhlemeier|first6=Cris|last7=Assefa|first7=Kebebew|last8=Tadele|first8=Zerihun|date=2015-02-01|title=Semi-dwarfism and lodging tolerance in tef (Eragrostis tef) is linked to a mutation in the α-Tubulin 1 gene|url= |journal=Journal of Experimental Botany|language=en|volume=66|issue=3|pages=933–944|doi=10.1093/jxb/eru452|issn=0022-0957|pmc=4321551|pmid=25399019}}</ref> In 2015, researchers tested 28 new teff varieties and identified three promising lines that generated yields of up to 4.7 tonnes per ha.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jifar|first1=H.|last2=Tesfaye|first2=K.|last3=Tesfaye|first3=K.|last4=Assefa|first4=K.|last5=Chanyalew|first5=S.|last6=Tadele|first6=Z.|date=2017-01-01|title=Semi-dwarf tef lines for high seed yield and lodging tolerance in Central Ethiopia|journal=African Crop Science Journal|volume=25|issue=4|pages=419–439–439|doi=10.4314/acsj.v25i4.3|issn=2072-6589|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The "Teff Improvement Project" marked a milestone by releasing the first teff variety ''Tesfa'' to the Ethiopian markets in March 2017.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Cannarozzi|first1=Gina|last2=Chanyalew|first2=Solomon|last3=Assefa|first3=Kebebew|last4=Bekele|first4=Abate|last5=Blösch|first5=Regula|last6=Weichert|first6=Annett|last7=Klauser|first7=Dominik|last8=Plaza-Wüthrich|first8=Sonia|last9=Esfeld|first9=Korinna|last10=Jöst|first10=Moritz|last11=Rindisbacher|first11=Abiel|date=2018-01-23|title=Technology generation to dissemination: lessons learned from the tef improvement project|journal=Euphytica|language=en|volume=214|issue=2|pages=31|doi=10.1007/s10681-018-2115-5|issn=1573-5060|doi-access=free|hdl=20.500.11850/242165|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Areas of further development include: "(i) improving productivity of teff; (ii) overcoming the lodging malady; (iii) developing climate-smart and appropriate crop and [[soil management]] options; (iv) developing tolerance to abiotic stresses such as [[drought]] and soil acidity; (v) developing suitable pre- and post-harvest [[mechanization]] technologies suitable for [[smallholding|smallholder]] [[farmer]]s as well as commercial farms; (vi) [[food processing]] and [[nutrition]] aspects with special attention to the development of different food recipes and value-added products; (vii) developing [[crop protection]] measures against diseases, insect pests and weeds; and (viii) improving or strengthening [[Socioeconomics|socio-economics]] and agricultural extension services."<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Chanyalew|first1=Solomon|last2=Ferede|first2=Setotaw|last3=Damte|first3=Tebkew|last4=Fikre|first4=Tsion|last5=Genet|first5=Yazachew|last6=Kebede|first6=Worku|last7=Tolossa|first7=Kidist|last8=Tadele|first8=Zerihun|last9=Assefa|first9=Kebebew|date=2019-09-01|title=Significance and prospects of an orphan crop tef|journal=Planta|language=en|volume=250|issue=3|pages=753–767|doi=10.1007/s00425-019-03209-z|pmid=31222492|issn=1432-2048|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Pests===
The tef shoot fly (''[[Atherigona hyalinipennis]]'') is a major pest of the crop.<ref>Ruparao T. Gahukar, Gadi V. P. Reddy. Management of Economically Important Insect Pests of Millet. ''Journal of Integrated Pest Management'' (2019) 10(1): 28; 1–10 https://doi.org/10.1093/jipm/pmz026</ref><ref>Mideksa, A., M. Negeri, and T. Shiberu. 2014. Management of tef shoot fly, ''Atherigona hyalinipennis'' (Reg.) (Diptera: Muscidae) on tef at Ambo, West Showa of Ethiopia. ''J. Entomol. Nematol.'' 6: 134–139.</ref><ref>Nigus, C., and T. Damte. 2018. Identification of the tef shoot fly species from tef, ''Eragrostis tef'' (Zucc.), Trotter growing areas of Ethiopia. ''Afr. J. Insects'' 5: 181–184.</ref>

Other insect pests include:<ref name="Kalaisekar">{{cite book|last=Kalaisekar|first=A|title=Insect pests of millets: systematics, bionomics, and management|publisher=Elsevier|publication-place=London|year=2017|isbn=978-0-12-804243-4|oclc=967265246}}</ref>

*central shoot fly ''[[Delia arambourgi]]'' (seedling feeder)
*Wello-bush cricket ''[[Decticoides brevipennis]]'' (flower feeder)
*red tef worm ''[[Mentaxya ignicollis]]''
*tef epilachna beetle ''[[Chnootriba similis]]'' (leaf feeder); also transmits [[rice yellow mottle virus]] in rice
*chrysomelid black beetle ''[[Erlangerius niger]]'' (adults feed on developing grains and leaves)
*stem-boring wasp ''[[Eurytomocharis eragrostidis]]'' in the United States