Effect of Crop Geometry and Age of Seedlings on Productivity and Nutrient Uptake of Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn)

Crop geometry is an important factor to achieve higher production by better utilization of resources and in turn higher production of photosynthates. The ideal crop geometry can assure healthy and uniform stand in the main field and ensure higher productivity. Proper age of seedlings has a tremendous influence on the tiller production, grain formation and other yield contributing characteristics. In view of the above, a field experiment was conducted during kharif season (June to October) of 2018 at Bagusala Farm (23^o39’ N latitude, 87^o42’ E longitude) of M.S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha to find out the effect of crop geometry and age of seedlings on yield attributing characters, yield and nutrient uptake of finger millet (cv. Vakula) in sandy loam soil. The experiment revealed that transplanting of 20 days old seedlings at 25 cm x 25 cm spacing registered superior performance in expression of yield attributes like effective tillers m⁻², number of grain ear head⁻¹, number of fingers ear head⁻¹, test weight and length of the fingers; grain and straw yield and nutrient uptake. It may be concluded that to obtain higher productivity of finger millet during kharif season in sandy loam soils of south Odisha, 20 days old seedlings may be transplanted with a spacing of 25 cm × 25 cm.

Transplanting of 20 days old seedlings with a spacing of 25 cm × 25 cm may be adopted to obtain higher productivity of finger millet

A planting geometry of 25 cm × 25 cm spacing and 20 days old seedlings recorded greater nutrient uptake by finger millet