Effect of Sowing Dates and Nutrient Management on Productivity of Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] in the North Eastern Hill Region

Abstract

  A field experiment was conducted to study at ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, India, during kharif season of 2023 and 2024. The experiment was laid out in 2-Factor Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications. The experiment had three sowing dates: D1 - 1st June, D2 - 15th June, D3 - 1st July; and four nutrient management: N1 - Control (No fertilizer), N2 - RDF – 40-30-20 kg ha-1 N, P2O5 and K2O, N3 - 100% Organic through FYM, N4 - 50% Inorganic + 50% Organic through FYM. The pooled result of the two years revealed that sowing dates and nutrient management has significant effect on productivity of finger millet. Results from the experiment revealed that the pooled result of sowing date on 1st July recorded the highest growth parameter, yield and yield attributes, viz., number of effective tillers (68.33 m-2), CGR (4.10 g m-2 day), number of panicles (202.41 m-2), number of fingers ear-1 (7.04), grain yield (1567. 58 kg ha-1). Similarly, among nutrient management, the pooled result of N4 - 50% Inorganic + 50% Organic through FYM recorded the highest growth, yield, viz., plant height (143.51cm), number of effective tillers (73.50 m-2), CGR (3.95 g m-2 day), number of panicles (231.66 m-2), number of fingers ear-1 (7.85), grain yield (1950. 43 kg ha-1). The findings also revealed the pooled results among the interactions, the pooled result revealed that T12 - D3N4 (Sowing on 1st July, 50% Inorganic + 50% Organic through FYM) recorded the highest growth, yield and yield attributes. Among the interactions, T12 - D3N4 recorded the highest yield with 2122.56 kg ha-1 and least was recorded in T1 - D1N1 (Sowing on 1st June, Control) with only 705.23 kg ha-1. As grain yield is the ultimate objective of any cultivation practices, hence, only this parameter was considered to identify the best combinations.