摘要：Research on tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) in the hot to warm moist valleys of North Shewa of the Amhara regional state has been meager. However, tef is the second most important cereal crop in area coverage in these sub agro-ecologies. Cereal Crops Research Program of Debre Birhan Agricultural Research Center launched informal survey in 2006 while the crops were in the field so as to identify the major tef based cropping systems and production practices for prioritizing research needs. The most important cropping system identified was tef based intercropping. A base crop was found intercropped with sesame, safflower, sesame-safflower, sorghum, gomenzer (Brasica carinata), and sunflower (in descending order of importance). The relative area coverage of sole cropped tef varied from about 4 - 36%. The component crops intercropped with tef were found to be largely affected by soil type. Seed rates of sesame and safflower as intercrop with tef are determined by the experience of individual farmer on soil type, depth and fertility levels. Other cultural practices also vary according to soil types, onset and duration of rainfall. This paper also outlines priority research directions of tef and its intercrop components.
关键词：Cropping system; hot to warm moist valleys; tef; sesame; safflower
