Yield, quality and nutrient status of pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus) as replacement crop after stand failure in sandy soil under different tillage, herbicide and planting delay

A field experiment was carried out during the rainy (kharif) seasons of 2018 and 2019 at Bikaner, Rajasthan, to study the effect of tillage, herbicide and planting delay on nutrient, yield and quality of pearl millet [Cenchrus americanus (L.) Morrone; syn. Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] as replacement crops following pearl millet stand failure in arid Rajasthan. The experiment was laid out in strip-plot design in 3 factors with 24 treatments comprising 4 tillage (T₁: no-tillage; T₂: tillage with disc plough with planking; T₃: tillage with cultivator with planking; T₄: tillage with harrow with planking), 2 herbicide (H₀: control; H₁: atrazine 0.5 kg a.i/ha) and 3 planting delay (P₁: 10 days after herbicide application; P₂: 20 days after herbicide application; P₃: 30 days after herbicide application) treatments, times replicated 3 time. The disc plough (T₂) and early planting (10 July) P₁ significantly increased N, P, K, total nutrient uptake, partial nutrient balance (PBN), and nutrient efficiency ratio (NER) than the other treatments. The grain, stover, and crude protein yields of pearl millet were found significantly higher with disc plough and early planting (10 July) treatment compared to other treatments on pooled basis. The interactions were found non-significant between tillage x herbicide x planting delay in yield of pearl millet.