Grains & Cereals· Digitaria exilis

Anbauratgeber für Fonio

Fonio is one of Africa's oldest cultivated cereals, grown across the Sahel and West African savanna regions. It is extremely fast-maturing, drought-tolerant, and thrives on poor sandy soils where other cereals fail. Often called 'hungry rice,' it is a crucial food security crop.

Wie lange dauert der Anbau von Fonio?

Fonio ist in der Regel etwa 70 Tage nach der Pflanzung erntereif.

Tage bis zur Ernte

720

kg/Hektar

low

Wasserbedarf

full sun

Sonnenbedarf

FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 13 October 2026. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

Anbaubedingungen

Temperatur

25-35°C optimal

Niederschlag

250-1000 mm/Jahr

Frosttoleranz

none

Trockenheitstoleranz

high

Luftfeuchtigkeit

low Toleranz

Hitzetoleranz

high

Bodenanforderungen

Bodenart & pH-Wert

Beste Bodenarten: sandy, sandy loam, laterite

pH-Bereich: 5.5 - 6.5 (optimal: 6)

Drainage: good

Nährstoffbedarf (N-P-K)

Stickstoff (N)low

Phosphor (P)low

Kalium (K)low

Pflanzanleitung

Pflanzmethoden

broadcasting, direct seeding

Pflanztiefe

1 cm

Pflanzabstand

5 cm Abstand, 20 cm Reihen

Pflanzzeit

early summer

Ertrag & Wirtschaftlichkeit

Ertragsspanne

490 - 1,420 kg/ha

Marktnachfrage

high growth

Rentabilität

medium

Häufige Schädlinge & Krankheiten

Häufige Schädlinge

stem borer
grain-feeding birds

Häufige Krankheiten

smut
leaf spot

Nutzen Sie die KI-gestützte Erkennung von Pflanzenkrankheiten, um Probleme frühzeitig zu erkennen und Ernteverluste zu vermeiden.

Anbautipps

Fonio matures in as few as 60-70 days, making it ideal as a catch crop in short rainy seasons or between other cereals.

Post-harvest processing is the main bottleneck. Invest in mechanical dehullers to reduce the labor-intensive manual husking.

Fonio is well-suited to nutrient-poor, acidic soils and requires minimal inputs, making it ideal for low-cost production systems.

Häufig gestellte Fragen

How long does Fonio take to grow?

Fonio typically takes 70 days from planting to harvest. Seeds germinate in about 3 days. The best planting season is early summer.

What soil does Fonio need?

Fonio grows best in sandy, sandy loam, laterite soil with a pH of 5.5-6.5. Good drainage is required.

What temperature does Fonio need?

Fonio grows best at 25-35°C. Frost tolerance: none. Heat tolerance: high.

What is the expected yield for Fonio?

Across 11 countries with grounded data, reported national yields for Fonio range from 490 to 1,420 kg/hectare, with a median of 720. These are national statistics, not a best-case figure — an individual farm's yield depends on variety, climate, soil and management.