Vol. 11, Issue 7 (2022)

Author(s):
Amit Kalaliya, SK Sharma and BR Kamboj

Abstract:
Pearl millet has high yield potential and is grown for food and feed purposes. To meet the need of balanced diet and Fe and Zn deficiency in human population, efficient use of nutrient management practices is indispensable. Therefore, nutrient management practices are the only option for increasing the pearl millet production and sustainability. The current study aimed to the find out the effect of different nutrient management practices on growth, grain yield and economics of rainfed pearl millet. In this, field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2019 at Dryland Agriculture Research Farm, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The experiment consisted of thirteen nutrient management practices viz. T₁- control, T₂- 40:20 kg NP/ha, T₃- 50:25 kg NP/ha, T₄- 60:30 kg NP/ha, T₅- 40:20:10 kg NPK/ha, T₆- 50:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha, T₇- 60:30:15 kg NPK/ha, T₈- 40:20:10 kg NPK/ha + ZnSO₄ @ 0.5% at 30 DAS, T₉- 50:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha + ZnSO₄ @ 0.5% at 30 DAS, T₁₀- 60:30:15 kg NPK/ha + ZnSO₄ @ 0.5% at 30 DAS, T₁₁- 40:20:10 kg NPK/ha + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ at 30 DAS, T₁₂- 50:25:12.5 kg NPK/ha + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ at 30 DAS and T₁₃- 60:30:15 kg NPK/ha + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ at 30 DAS was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Our investigation under field study revealed that combined application of fertilizers along with spray of Fe and Zn @ 0.5% at 30 DAS had significant and positive effects on growth parameters, grain yield and economics of rainfed pearl millet. Application of 60:30:15 kg NPK/ha + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ at 30 DAS gave highest grain yield (1911 kg ha^-1), stover yield (5006 kg ha^-1) and net returns (Rs. 23637 ha^-1) compared to other nutrient management practices.