Estudio de la respuesta de la gramínea estival Eragrostis teff a diferentes dosis de nitrógeno y su relación con el ambiente hídrico

Uruguay has a total grazing area of 14.3 million hectares, with 80.9% corresponding to natural grasslands and 19.1% to annual forage crops and pastures (Oficina de Estadísticas Agropecuarias, 2021). Annual forage crops are fundamental elements in the dry matter production system; they provide high-quality forage production in short periods of time and successfully reinforce forage delivery during critical winter and summer periods when perennial species decrease their productivity (Carámbula, 2002). Eragrostis teff is a summer annual C4 grass species with limited diffusion in the region, and there are no national studies on the species. Therefore, this study proposes to investigate the performance of Eragrostis teff in biomass production, as well as botanical variables and its overall performance under different water conditions (irrigation and rainfed), and its relationship with different nitrogen doses. In summary, based on the collected data, it can be stated that, in this research, Eragrostis teff performed well both under irrigation and rainfed conditions, a factor that did not affect the species' performance in attributes such as biomass production, botanical variables, and its relationship with different nitrogen doses. Furthermore, it was concluded that teff, with a dose of 300 kg N/ha, achieves biomass production levels that intercept photosynthetically active radiation, maximizing dry matter production, with a stable leaf-to-stem ratio throughout the cycle and consistent NDVI values indicative of healthy and dense forage.