Yield and Quality of Commercially Available Teff Genotypes in the Pacific Northwest.

Few options are available to growers who wish to produce a quick-growing, mid-summer annual forage for purposes of double-cropping, rotation out of a perennial forage such as alfalfa, or emergency replanting due to crop failure. Teff (Eragrostis tef) is a warm season, annual grass that has the potential to be a viable alternative. The objective of this trial was to examine forage production differences in six commercially available teff genotypes in the Pacific Northwest.   In 2006, one teff variety and five, branded teff accessions were planted at three locations, Othello, WA, Klamath Falls, OR and Ontario, OR.  Teff produced between 10.3 and 15.4 Mg ha^-1 from two harvests.  The teff types did not differ in yield at any location.  Quality differences between types were small and inconsistent across locations. The Relative Feed Value (RFV) ranged from 80 to 97, Relative Forage Quality (RFQ) ranged from 78 to 108 and Crude Protein ranged from 8.1 to 15.0%.  Most variation in yield and forage quality was caused by location rather than type. Teff appears promising as an alternative annual forage grass. However, many questions remain unanswered including: production at different planting dates, sugar content, nitrate toxicity and other nutritional questions.