Nutrient uptake, growth and yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) in a typic Haplustept soil

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is one of the major cereal grain crops grown extensively in the arid and semi-arid regions of India. Despite having very high production potential, the yield of this crop is low due to low soil fertility and scarce water availability in these regions. Field experiments have been conducted during kharif 2003 and 2004 to study the growth, nutrient uptake and yield of pearl millet under different combinations of irrigation water and nitrogenous fertilizer treatments. In both the years, days of maturity increased with increasing nitrogen doses in irrigated plots. Application of nitrogen induced higher LAI, but the difference in 80 and 120 kg N ha⁻¹ levels was only found to be significant. Plants given adequate N suffered less during water shortage at panicle initiation and at grain filling compared with those given no N. The increase in biomass accumulation was faster in irrigated plots than rainfed and it increased with N treatment. However, though 1000 grain weight increased significantly with successive N levels, but the increment was pronounced only up to 40 kg N ha⁻¹ in rainfed and up to 120 kg N ha⁻¹ in irrigated treatment. Grain yield varied significantly with nitrogen application rates as compared to those plots that received no N. Mean yield in irrigated plots was also significantly higher than the unirrigatd plots. Nitrogen content in pearl millet grain was more in irrigated plots and also increased with N doses but no such relations could be established with irrigation as well as nitrogen doses for P and K, while N, P and K content in straw did not show any statistical relationship with either irrigation or fertilizers treatments. During both the seasons, the soil organic carbon (SOC) increased at harvest in comparison to that at sowing of the crop, in surface (0–0.15 m) and sub-surface (0.15–0.30 m) layers; whereas no change or reduction in SOC content was found in the deeper (0.30–0.45 and 0.45–0.60 m) layers. The increments were more in irrigated plots (I₁), as compared to rainfed plots (I₀), possibly due to more use efficiency of the fertilizers. It can be concluded that response of pearl millet was optimum at a dose of 40 kg N ha⁻¹ under rainfed and 120 kg N ha⁻¹ under irrigation in the specific soil and agroclimatic conditions of the study area.