Agricultural Science Digest
SCOPUS
  • Year: 2025
  • Volume: 45
  • Issue: 3

Sustaining Soil Fertility and Yield by Inductive cum Targeted Yield Model-based Fertilizer Prescriptions for Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) in Alfisols of Tamil Nadu, Southern India

  • Author:
  • B. Asan Mohamed1,*, R. Santhi1, S. Maragatham1, M. Gopalakrishnan1, R. Ravikesavan2, P. Geetha3
  • Total Page Count: 6
  • Page Number: 441 to 446

1Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India

2Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India

3Centre for Post-Harvest Technology, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India

*Corresponding Author: B. Asan Mohamed, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India, Email: asanmohamedhk@gmail.com

Online published on 04 December, 2025.

Abstract

Finger millet cultivation in Alfisols (Typic rhodustalf, Palaviduthi soil series) demands an optimal integrated plant nutrient supply to achieve desired yields. In order to develop the soil test crop response to fertilizer and farm yard manure (FYM) through integrated plant nutrition system (STCR-IPNS) in terms of nutrient uptake, yield and pre-sowing STVs, a field investigation on Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] was conducted at the farmer's field of Thoppupatti village, Dindigul district, Southern Agro-climatic zone of Tamil Nadu, Southern India during December 2021-August 2022.

By adopting the Inductive cum Targeted Yield Model before the test crop of Finger millet, a artificial soil fertility gradient was created by the application of graded levels of NPK fertilizers with fodder sorghum as a gradient crop.

The basic data viz., N, P and K nutrients for producing 1 tonne of finger millet grain were 48 kg, 23 kg and 44 kg; the soil contributed 14.86%, 19.18% and 18.95%; fertilizer contributed 44.16%, 32.79% and 59.75% for N, P and K and farmyard manure (FYM) contributed 28.47%, 11.77% and 33.78%, respectively. Fertilizer prescription equations for finger millet and ready reckoners for the operational range of soil test results for the intended yield target under NPK alone and IPNS (NPK + FYM) were produced using the basic data.

Keywords

Fertilizer prescription equations, Finger millet, Soil fertility gradient, STCR-IPNS, User's friendly ready reckoner of fertilizer doses