In India finger millet is mostly cultivated in resource poor soils of tropics and sub-tropics. Synchronizing nutrient supply with crop demand is essential to maximize yield and fertilizer use efficiency. It has been found that incorporation of N fertilizer during seeding stage increased yield as compared to broadcasting of fertilizer. The continuous application of inorganic N fertilizer reduced the soil organic carbon level. The foliar application of 2% urea produced higher grain and straw yield. Application of fertilizer P @ 125% recommended dose of phosphorus (RDP) with recommended N, K and FYM in different fertility soils recorded higher grain and straw yield. Nutrient management for targeting production and sustainability, integrated nutrient management (INM) will be the most suitable option. Application of 100% NPK along with FYM @ 10 t ha-1 recorded significantly higher grain and straw yield and enriched the soil organic carbon. Application of farmyard manure (FYM) alone or in a combination with chemical fertilizers contributed to higher amounts of carbon inputs and build up a higher soil organic carbon pool in rain fed groundnut–finger millet rotation in alfisol of semi-arid region. Cropping system approach either sequential or intercropping with legume was found beneficial. Treating seeds with
Millets exhibit unique characteristics amongst cereals. These can grow well under dry and aberrant weather conditions, can cope with relatively poor soils and require comparatively less external inputs than major cereals, namely rice, wheat and maize. Millets are a staple food with superior nutritional qualities and used both as food and fodder. In addition, millets sequestrate carbon, thereby adding to CO2 abatement opportunities, contribute to enhanced agro-biodiversity by their rich varietal diversity, ecologically beneficial (Brahmachari
Finger millet is known as a low fertilizer input crop by the small farmers who live on subsistence farming. Under low nutrient input conditions, the crop expresses poor yields. In India, finger millet is mostly cultivated in resource poor soils of tropics and sub-tropics. But there are improved varieties of finger millet which respond to added nutrients. Nutrient management should be done targeting production sustainability and integrated nutrient management (INM) is the most suitable option in this regard. Further, production sustainability can be achieved through use of all possible sources of nutrients to match the soil nutrient availability with crop demand (spatially and temporally). The major advantages of INM are increase in yield, water use efficiency, grain quality, economic return, and sustainability. The site specific nutrient management (SSNM) as well as soil test crop response (STCR) adds new dimensions of nutrient management of crops. In the present article, the available scientific information in India was collected and presented in the following pages on different options of nutrient management, sources, levels and methods of application for sustaining productivity of finger millet.
Like in other crops, improved varieties of finger millet respond well to added nutrients as the crop is generally cultivated under poor soil conditions. Compared to major cereals, the recommendations available for nutrient management in finger millet is meager under different agro-climatic conditions. There is enough scope to address the issues related to nutrient management in finger millet. Researchers and technocrats advocate in favour of integrated nutrient management (INM) for different crops and cropping systems. The INM shows the path of agricultural sustainability as it provides enough scope of soil fertility enhancement including enrichment of soil microbial activity. The major objectives of INM are enhancement of crop productivity by providing essential nutrients and increase in resource use efficiency. Recent development in research in precision agriculture suggests soil test crop response (STCR) approach in different crops for targeting of nutrient inputs and yield output. On the basis of published work on nutrient management of finger millet, an initiative has been taken to bring information together on the options and methods of nutrient management under different situations to achieve production sustainability.
Application of the correct level of N fertilizer is important to obtain optimum yield of finger millet and thus make its cultivation profitable. Many of the soils where finger millet is grown are deficient in N. Earlier research work revealed that finger millet responded to graded levels of N and summary of some of the research findings are presented in
Time of N application is important in finger millet production. Hegde and Gowda (1986) claimed that incorporation of N fertilizer during seeding stage increased yield by 30% compared to fertilizer broadcasting as basal dose. Synchronizing N supply with crop N demand is essential to maximize yield and N use efficiency. Further they reported that on sandy loam soils, application of N at 50 kg ha-1 produced lower grain yield when applied only at planting, whereas the yield increased when the application was done in two splits (at planting and 25–30 days after planting). Chavan
Findings of levels of on finger millet in India
One of the main problems faced by the farmers is inherent low soil P in areas where finger millet is commonly grown. P has distinct role in yield improvement of finger millet. Chandrakala et al. (2017) concluded that application of fertilizer P @ 125 % recommended dose of phosphorus (RDP) with recommended N, K and FYM in very low, low and medium fertility soils recorded higher grain and straw yield of finger millet. Application of 100% or 75% RDP with recommended N, K and FYM were optimum though there was an increase in yield at higher rate of P application in high P fertility soils. The phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) was higher at lower levels of P application. Sundaresh and Basavaraja (2017) reported higher grain yield with application of 100 per cent RDN, 150 per cent RDP and 125 per cent recommended dose of potassium (RDK) along with FYM at 10 t ha-1 (100:75:62.5 kg NPK ha-1) in Alfisols of Ramanagara district of Karnataka having sandy loam soil with pH 6.3, deficient in available phosphorus (12.8 kg ha-1) and potassium (108.7 kg ha-1), under protective irrigation. Ramachandrappa
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the primary macro nutrients mainly responsible for productivity of crops. In general, fertilizer recommendations consist of different levels of macro-nutrients for higher yields. The results of experiments conducted with macro-nutrients are presented below (
Findings of combined application of chemical N, P and K on finger millet in India
The field experiment conducted during kharif at Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh on sandy loam soil having low in organic carbon, available nitrogen, high in available phosphorus and medium in available potassium indicated that significantly higher grain and straw yields of finger millet with 150% RDF+ZnSO4 0.5% foliar spray + FeSO40.2% foliar spray (Sandhya Rani et al. 2017a). The highest available soil macronutrients and uptake of plant macronutrients were also found in the same treatment. Whereas, the highest available Zn in the soil was found in the treatment 150% RDF+ZnSO4 soil application + FeSO40.2% foliar spray (3.32ppm), and the highest available Fe in the treatment 150% RDF+ FeSO40.2% foliar spray (17.63ppm). Field experiments conducted at Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Kolhapur (Maharashtra) on Entisol, during
Organic manures play important role by supplying variety of nutrients and release them slowly, improve soil fertility and enhance efficiency of added chemical inputs. There are different kinds of organic manures and with positive impact on productivity enhancement of finger millet. Adequate application of FYM, 7.5 to 10 t ha-1 helps in better development of root growth (Prabhakar
Bio-fertilizers are living and latent cells of micro-organisms which under favourable conditions multiply rapidly and supply, mobilize and solubilize plant nutrients. Therefore, integration of these with organic manures and chemical fertilizers adds value for sustaining crop productivity by creating a healthy ecosystem. Treating seeds with
INM is the application of nutrients in crops from all possible sources in suitable and compatible manner to enrich soil health targeting sustainability. In INM, plant nutrients are supplied through organic manures, biofertilizers and chemicals to meet the requirement of crops. Organic manures are known not only to improve physical and chemical properties but to create congenial environment for soil micro-organisms and enhance efficiency of chemical fertilizers. Some of the research evidences of productivity enhancement of finger millet through INM are presented in the
Arulmozhiselvan
Finger millet can be accommodated in different cropping systems and it impacts of the nutrient management in the system. Pallavi
Cereal–legume combination in cropping system is considered an ideal system for sustainable production. Long-term nutrient management and cropping systems experiments are needed for finger millet based cropping system to assess changes in soil quality, organic carbon pool, and agronomic sustainability. Srinivasa Rao (2012) reported application of farmyard manure (FYM) alone or in a combination with chemical fertilizers contributed to higher amounts of C inputs and subsequently to build up a higher SOC pool on the basis of a 13-year-old soil fertility management experiment of rainfed groundnut– finger millet rotation in semi-arid alfisol. Pavankumar
Parentage details and environmental conditions (2015-16)
In finger millet + legume intercropping system, generally beneficial effects are observed in terms of greater utilization of land resources, total crop yield and higher monetary returns. Maitra
Efficient crop fertilization programme to meet the crop nutrient needs is essential for sustainable agriculture. Among the various scientific methods of fertilizer recommendations, which incorporate nutrient requirement of the crop, contribution of nutrients from soil, manures, fertilizers and fixing yield-targets is only the Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) approach (Regar and Singh 2014). Fertilizer recommendation based on yield target was first initiated by Troug (1960), which later modified by Ramomoorthy
As finger millet is grown under low fertility soil with poor management, fertilization plays a greater role on productivity of the crop. The level, time and method of nutrient application are important. Balanced fertilization helps in realizing maximum yield of finger millet. Besides macro-nutrients, application of ZnSO4 and FeSO4 through foliage enhance productivity if the soil if deficient in these micro-nutrients. Organic manures, biofertilizers and INM play a greater role in boosting yield of finger millet with improvement of soil health. Further, legume based cropping system approach in nutrient management in finger millet plays pivotal role. The limitations in nutrient management studies in finger millet are: improvement of soil health for sustainable production and lack of researches on INM, identification of efficient finger millet based cropping system and STCR based nutrient management for different agroclimatic zones.