Effect of sowing windows on growth and yield of foxtail millet

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during summer 2025 at the Agricultural Meteorology Farm, College of Agriculture, Pune to study the effect of sowing windows on the growth and yield of foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.). The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three sowing windows (01 MW: 01–07 January, 03 MW: 15–21 January and 05 MW: 29 January–04 February) as subplots and five genotypes as main plots. Results revealed that early sowing in the 1st meteorological week significantly enhanced plant height (130.54 cm), tiller number (16.62 m⁻¹) and extended crop duration leading to the highest grain yield (21.35 q ha⁻¹). Delayed sowing reduced growth duration and yield potential. Among genotypes KOPFX2107 recorded the maximum yield (23.26 q ha⁻¹) while BFTM-82 produced the lowest (18.39 q ha⁻¹). Interaction effects were non-significant but early sowing with KOPFX2107 consistently performed other combinations. The study highlights the timely sowing during early January of KOPFX2107 genotypes showed maximizing foxtail millet productivity under Pune conditions.