Warm Season Annual
Teff is an upright annual bunchgrass. It appears to be well suited for western Canada, especially for late spring, early summer planting. It is extremely small seeded so it is sensitive to seeding too deep. Leaves and stems are very fine giving it good palatability. It was brought from Ethiopia so is drought and heat tolerant. Teff does not handle much salinity nor frost. Being a warm season crop with good drought tolerance, it grows very quickly in the summer months. Regrowth is good, so it can be cut and grazed or potentially get multiple cuts. Feed values would be similar to Timothy.
Seeds per pound: 1,300,000 Seeds/sq ft/pound 35
Uses:
- Erosion control
- Soil builder
- Nitrogen scavenger
- Weed suppression
- Grazing potential
- Hay potential
Strengths:
- Drought and heat tolerance
- Fast growth during summer
Concerns:
Small seed makes seeding tricky.
Grazing:
Very good. Good regrowth, fine stems and leaves leading to good palatability.
Hay:
Very good. Good dry down, good yields.
Mycorrhizal support? Yes
