1. Tolerance of Teff (Eragrostis tef) var. “Tiffany” to Several Selective Herbicides Brian Jones Agronomy Extension Agent September 2009

2. Background Teff is a warm season C4 annual grass –African origin, used as a grain crop Gaining popularity as a summer annual forage –Primarily marketed as high quality horse hay –Ongoing study examining applicability as grazing for backgrounding/finishing operation

3. Objective Limited literature exists on selective weed control in teff Objective was to examine the effect of several common selective forage herbicides on teff growth and yield

4. Establishment Variety: “Tiffany” teff Planting date: 3 June, 2009 Seeding rate: 7 lb/A Seeding tool: Brillion seeder Previous crop: Barley harvested as silage Site prep: –Turbo-till vertical tillage (23 May) –Pasture harrow (25 May) Fertilizer applied 31 May: –64 lb 0-0-62.5 –83 lb 10-34-0 –52 lb 30% UAN Burndown herbicide applied 31 May –1.5 qt/A Gamoxone Nteon

5. Herbicide Treatments Treatments applied on 10 August in a randomized complete block design with four replications

6. Teff on 10 August Treatments applied to teff after 17 days of re-growth occurred from hay cutting

7. Weed Species Composition Number of common forage weed species present, including –Canada thistle –Bull thistle –Pigweed spp. –Horsenettle –Broadleaf dock Weed composition and cover varied between treatments Teff stand was consistent and above 90% ground cover in all treatments

8. Teff Yield Teff harvested on 22 September (6 WAT) Sample weight and dry matter determined

9. NS P ≤ 0.05

10. Milestone Grazon P+D 2,4-D RifleControl

11. Summary No difference in teff yield observed between treatments No visual difference in teff performance noted between treatments A more thorough investigation of herbicide application at different teff growth stages should be performed