Yield Improvement and Nutrient Uptake of Little Millet (Panicum sumatrense) for Agronomic Interventions

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted during kharif, 2019 and kharif 2020 at S.V. Agricultural College Farm, Tirupati with three different times of sowing of little millet (second fortnight of June, first fortnight of July and second fortnight of July) in combination with three methods of establishment (Broadcasting, Sowing at 30 cm × 10 cm and transplanting 20 days old seedlings) and three nitrogen levels (20 kg N ha-1, 30 kg N ha-1 and 40 kg N ha-1). The results of the experiment revealed that among the three times of sowing, second fortnight of June sowings recorded higher grain yield, straw yield and nutrient uptake of little millet while lower values of these were obtained with July second fortnight sown crop during both the years of study. Transplanted little millet resulted in superior grain yield, straw yield and nutrient uptake compared to broadcasting and sowing at 30 cm × 10 cm. Maximum values of grain yield, straw yield and nutrient uptake were observed with application of 40 kg N ha-1 while minimum values of these parameters were obtained with application of 20 kg N ha-1. Transplanting little millet during second fortnight of June along with the application of 40 kg N ha-1 achieved higher grain and straw yield besides nutrient uptake by grain.