Tillage and nutrient management strategies to improve the performances of little millet under irrigated condition Vanathi J.1,*, Sanbagavalli S.1, Somasundaram E.2, Sivakumar U.3, Maragatham S.4 1Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India 2Department of Agri Business Development, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India 3Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India 4Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India *Corresponding Author: J. Vanathi, Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India, Email: jvanathi7@gmail.com
Online Published on 5 January, 2024. Abstract Background Millets rank sixth among cereal grains which has a great potential in contributing to food and nutritional security. Little millet (Panicum sumatrense L.) a minor millet, quick germinating short duration crop, tolerant to drought, excess moisture and also rich in nutrients. Use of improved varieties under good agronomic management such as tillage practices, crop rotation, cropping system and fertilization by nutrient management through organic manures and foliar supplementation during critical stages helps in improving the soil fertility and maximize the crop productivity. Hence, there is a need to develop the organic nutrient management of minor millets for food production, nutritional security and maintaining the soil fertility as well as productivity. Based on this consideration, a new immersing attempt was made to develop and identify the suitable tillage prac-tices and nutrient management practices on growth and yield of little millet. Methods Field experiments were conducted in the research farm of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during summer and rabi season 2022 in order to investigate the growth and yield performances of irrigated little millet under tillage and different nutrient sources. The experiment was laid out in strip plot design with 2 main plot and 7 sub-plot treatments. The main plot consist of tillage practices viz., conventional tillage and farmer's practices whereas sub-plot consist of nutrient management practices includes organic manures along with foliar nutrition. Result The results revealed that conventional tillage (Disc plough + Cultivator + Rotovator) with application of enriched vermicompost @ 1 t ha-1 followed by foliar spray of 3% panchagavya on 30th DAS and 5% of egg amino acid on 45th DAS had greater effect on growth parameters and yield attributes of little millet during summer and rabi season, 2022. Top Keywords Conventional tillage, Foliar spray, Little millet, Organic manures. Top |