Vol. 11, Issue 7 (2022)

Author(s):
Janani N, Durai Singh R, Chelvi Ramessh, Thamizh Vendan R and Selvam S

Abstract:
Nowadays, the consumption of barnyard millet a nutri-rich cereal has risen drastically. This has led to the development of newer varieties to produce more tillers and yield. However, the productivity of these varieties can possibly be enhanced through optimizing the row spacing for higher yields and also including potassium as a recommended fertilizer. Therefore, a study was conducted during the summer season of 2022 at Department of Agronomy, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu to study the effect of row spacing and potassium management on the growth and yield attributes of Barnyard millet (cv. MDU 1) under irrigated conditions. The experiment was laid out in split plot design and replicated thrice with main plot consisted of row spacing (22.5, 25.0 and 30.0) with a plant to plant spacing of 10cm. The subplot consisted of Potassium management (10, 20, 30kg/ha and enriched FYM @ 750kg ha^-1 + K releasing bacteria, recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) + Enriched organo-mineral compost @ 750kg ha^-1 along with control). Results revealed that, sowing seeds at the spacing of 22.5 × 10cm recorded significantly higher yield attributes viz., number of productive tillers m^-2 (92.0), 1000 grain weight (3.24g). Secondarily, application of RDF along with 10kg of potassium recorded better growth and yield attributes viz., number of tillers m^-2 (147), number of productive tillers m^-2 (93.4), number of grains earhead-1 (1734), Length of earhead (19.4 cm), Weight of earhead (9.12g) of barnyard millet. Based on this, cultivating barnyard millet at a closer spacing of 22.5 × 10cm along with inclusion of potassium with a recommended dose of fertilizer @ 40:20:10 kg ha^-1 can significantly increase the overall productivity under irrigated conditions.