Investigation of the Gluten-free Cereal, Teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter), Growing Possibility in Central Europe

Abstract

Climate change will lead to a significant increase in global temperatures and the drying of some areas. In 2022, nearly half of Europe experienced a hot and dry summer that was unprecedented in the last half millennium. In addition to the negative impacts of climate change, the loss of agrobiodiversity is also a major sustainability issue. Agricultural production must respond to these problems by breeding newer and newer drought-tolerant varieties and cultivating and adapting varieties that are inherently drought-tolerant. Teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) is a Poaceae family annual cereal that is widely cultivated in Africa. Its flour is a staple in Ethiopian cuisine, and its fine straw is used as animal feed. Wholemeal teff flour is becoming increasingly important in the health food market. It is used in the production of various gluten-free foods, such as pasta and breads. Unlike wheat, maize, and sorghum, teff is resistant to extreme climatic conditions and grows well in both dry and waterlogged soils. Our experiment was set up in the demonstration garden of the University of Nyíregyháza in 2022. Teff seedlings were planted on May 30, 2022. The four replicate microplots of 0.5 m2 each were harvested on October 18. The yield results obtained from the measurements were converted to kg/ha. The hay yield of almost 5 t/ha seems favourable, but we cannot ignore the fact that the crop produced this yield under irrigated conditions. The grain yield (if deductions for 90% purity are made) averages 1.2 t/ha. This is significantly below our cultivated cereals, but the potentially low production costs and high selling price could make the crop competitive. The Thousand Kernel Weight was 0.301 g, which was higher than previously reported.