Effect of nutrient management in finger millet in red sandy loam soils of North Coastal zone

Abstract

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is a staple food crop grown by subsistence farmers in red sandy loam soils of North Coastal Zone and scarce rain fall zone of Andhra Pradesh. It is commonly called as “Nutricereal” as it is nutritionally superior to many cereals and containing proteins, minerals, calcium and vitamins in abundance and is highly valued by traditional farmers as it is nutritious, drought tolerant, short duration and requires low inputs. High yielding varieties of finger millet require comparatively large quantities of both macro and micronutrients and are expected to respond favourably to their application. A field experiment was conducted on kharif, 2018-19, to study the yield response of finger millet to graded doses of fertilizers at Agricultural Research Station, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. The experiment consisting of eleven treatments, three replications with RBD design. The experimental results indicated that significantly higher grain and straw yields of finger millet were recorded in the treatment with 150% RDF (30.5q/ha and 79.5q/ha respectively). The highest available soil macronutrients and uptake of plant macronutrients was also found in the same treatment.