Influence of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on growth of finger millet (Variety-VL Mandua 379)

A field experiment was conducted at Himalayan University farm, Jullang, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, during the kharif season of 2023 with 8 treatments replicated thrice in randomized block design, to determine the effect of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on growth of finger millet (Eleusine coracana.). The available nutrient status showed high nitrogen (N), low phosphorus (P), and medium potassium (K) levels. The experiment included the following treatments T1-Control, T2- Karanj leaf mould at + Azotobacter, T3-Karanj leaf mould + Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria at, T4- Neem leaf mould + Azotobacter, T5-Paddy straw + jute bag + Rhizobium, T6-Paddy straw + Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria, T7-Black polythene + Azotobacter and T8-Saw dust + Rhizobium.The highest plant height recorded was 31.27 cm at 30 DAT, 76.87 cm at 60 DAT, 99.20 cm at 90 DAT, and 100.80 cm at harvest, highest number of tillers plant-1 recorded was 2.33 at 30 DAT, 2.80 at 60 DAT, 3.67 at 90 DAT, and 4.07 at harvest, highest number of leaves plant-1 recorded was 25.27 at 30 DAT, 33.40 at 60 DAT, 38.73 at 90 DAT, and 32.13 at harvest and plant dry weight recordings of 8.23 g at 30 DAT, 27.77 g at 60 DAT, 40.64 g at 90 DAT and 51.06 g at harvest were observed with treatment T5 - Paddy straw + jute bag + Rhizobium.

Introduction

Finger millet or ragi (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaernt.) belongs to the family Poaceae. The term 'Eleusine' is derived from 'Eleusis' who is the Greek deity presiding over agriculture. The term 'coracana is derived from kurukkan, the Singhali name of the grain. Ragi is mentioned in ancient Sanskrit literature as Rajika. The word ragi is derived from "Rajika" meaning red Being a hardy crop, finger millet is grown in drylands, under the rainfed situation. It has no preferences of soil types, yet, sandy loams and red loams are best. It has a low water requirement and can be grown with a minimum rainfall of 300-400 mm but can withstand up to 1500 mm. It can tolerate salinity to some extent and is sensitive to waterlogging and frost (Neeruganti, 2021) [8] . Around 4.5 million tons of finger millet are produced worldwide every year. Africa produce 2.5 million tons and India produces 1.2 million tons annually. Finger millet accounts for about 85% of all millets produced in India and is cultivated over 1.19 million hectares in India according to a recent report (Sakamma et al., 2018) [10] . Mulching is the process or practice of covering the soil/ground to make more favorable conditions for plant growth, development and efficient crop production. While natural mulches such as leaf, straw, dead leaves and compost have been used for centuries, during the last 60 years the advent of synthetic materials has altered the methods and benefits of mulching (Sharma and Bhardwaj, 2017) [12] . Microbial inoculants, also known as biofertilizers, are organic products that contain specific microorganisms obtained from plant roots and root zones. They have been found to boost plants' growth and yield by 10-40%. These bioinoculants colonize the environment when applied to the rhizosphere and the interior of the plant to promote plant growth (Nosheen et al, 2021) [9] . The purpose of this research is to determine how different types of mulches and biofertilizers affect soil moisture, temperature regulation, nutrient availability and weed suppression, thereby optimizing the growing conditions for finger millet.

By exploring these interactions, the research seeks to develop cost-effective, eco-friendly solutions that reduce the dependency on chemical inputs, improve soil health and increase the nutritional quality and productivity of finger millet. Ultimately, the goal is to promote sustainable agriculture, improve food security and boost the livelihoods of farmers in vulnerable regions.

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2023 at Himalayan University in Itanagar. The Crop Research Farm is located in Jullang on the university campus, situated at 27.14°N latitude and 93.62°E longitude, and an altitude of 320 meters above sea level. The site belongs to the Eastern Himalayan region, and the agro-climatic zone falls under the sub-tropical zone of Arunachal Pradesh.

Plant height from the ground level till the apex of the top leaf was noted at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest and expressed in cm.

No. of leaves plant -1

Number of leaves was recorded from the five selected tagged plants at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest. The average number of leaves plant -1 was worked out.

Number of tillers plant -1

The total number of tillers per plant was counted from five hills at random at 30, 60 and 90 DAT and at harvest and the average was worked out.

The sample collected from five randomly selected hills from the destructive sampling area at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest and was used to record the dry matter production. The plant was uprooted and its roots were removed. The aerial parts were chopped and put in a brown paper bag. Then it was dried in the thermostatically controlled oven at 60 °C till the sample was dried and constant weight was recorded. [5,1] . The use of rhizobium also contributes to increased plant height. Rhizobium spp. are plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and some are endophytes that can produce phytohormones, siderophores, HCN, solubilize sparingly soluble organic and inorganic phosphates, and can colonize in the roots of many plants (Sessitsch et al., 2002) [11] .

Number tillers plant -1

Higher number of tillers plant The probable reason for recording highest number of tillers plant -1 with T 5 (Paddy straw+ Jute bag+ Rhizobium) is because straw mulching might have reduced the fluctuation of soil temperature and increased the soil moisture and resulted in more rapid crop growth and produced more number of tillers. The result was partially similar to the findings of Mishra (2000) [7] who stated that soil mulching significantly enhanced the number of effective tillers plant -1 . Studies have shown that Rhizobium inoculation improves various growth parameters by enhancing nitrogen fixation, which subsequently increases the availability of nitrogen in the soil. This increase in nitrogen supports the development of more tillers, as nitrogen is crucial for the formation of new shoots and leaves (Gebremariam and Tesfay, 2021) [3] .

Number of leaves plant -1

Higher number of leaves plant [4] . Jute mulch suppresses weed growth, reducing competition for nutrients and water, which allows the main crop to flourish and develop more leaves (Mia, 2022) [6] .

Conclusion

In conclusion, the study clearly demonstrates that the use of mulching and biofertilizers significantly enhances the growth and yield of finger millet. Treatments with paddy straw and jute bag mulch combined with Rhizobium (T 5 ) showed the most notable improvements in plant height (cm), number of tiller plant -1 , number of leaves plant -1 and dry weight (g). Treatment with paddy straw and jute bag mulch combined with Rhizobium (T 5 ) was also observed best in CGR (g m -2 day -1 ) and RGR (g g - 1 day -1 ).

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementI would like to express my sincere gratitude to the research committee for their invaluable support and guidance throughout this study. I would especially like to thank Dr. Kasinam Doruk, who has taught me more than I could ever thought. Her expertise and encouragement were instrumental in the successful completion of this research on the "influence of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on the growth of finger millet". I also appreciate the assistance provided by the technical staff and the financial support received from my parents, which made this study possible.

Figures and tables from the paper

Sl. No	Particulars	Value
1.	Sand (%)	54.2%
2.	Silt (%)	29.5%
3.	Clay (%)	16.3 %
4.	Soil Texture	Sandy Loam
1.	Soil pH	4.25
2.	Organic carbon	1.59 %
3.	Electrical conductivity	0.452 dS/m
4.	Available Nitrogen	613.5 Kg/ha
5.	Available Phosphorus	4.86 Kg/ha
6.	Available Potassium	218.4 Kg/ha

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Physio-chemical properties of soil in the experimental field,

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Treatments	Plant height (cm)	—	—	—
	30 DAT	60 DAT	90 DAT	Harvest
T1	21.20	44.47	61.47	63.33
T2	29.73	70.67	91.93	93.47
T3	29.60	68.40	88.27	90.20
T4	28.53	66.00	85.07	86.47
T5	31.27	76.87	99.20	100.80
T6	30.33	74.33	97.00	98.53
T7	30.00	73.60	94.60	96.53
T8	30.53	75.40	97.73	99.53
F Test	NS	S	S	S
SEd (±)	0.36	0.87	1.08	1.09
CD (P=0.05)	2.52	8.21	2.31	9.61

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Effect of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on plant

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Treatments	Number of tillers plant-1	—	—	—
	30 DAT	60 DAT	90 DAT	Harvest
T1	1.13	1.67	2.40	2.83
T2	2.07	2.67	3.13	3.57
T3	1.93	2.53	3.07	3.37
T4	1.87	2.40	2.93	3.50
T5	2.33	2.80	3.67	4.07
T6	2.20	2.67	3.40	3.77
T7	2.13	2.60	3.33	3.73
T8	2.27	2.73	3.53	3.73
F Test	NS	S	S	S
SEd (±)	0.13	0.14	0.18	0.16
CD (P=0.05)	0.27	0.32	0.36	0.33

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Effect of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on number of tillers plant-1 of finger millet

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Treatments	Number of leaves plant-1	—	—	—
	30 DAT	60 DAT	90 DAT	Harvest
T1	13.07	15.13	18.73	15.60
T2	19.80	29.80	32.33	25.57
T3	18.40	24.73	29.33	22.07
T4	17.47	23.07	26.13	20.53
T5	25.27	33.40	38.73	32.13
T6	20.80	32.13	35.13	30.07
T7	20.40	31.67	32.87	26.47
T8	23.93	32.93	36.67	29.13
F Test	NS	S	S	S
SEd (±)	0.25	0.60	0.49	0.49
CD (P=0.05)	2.97	5.04	5.05	4.33

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Effect of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on number of leaves plant-1 of finger millet

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Treatments	Dry weight (g)	—	—	—
	30 DAT	60 DAT	90 DAT	Harvest
T1	3.75	12.47	21.46	28.03
T2	6.16	21.97	36.52	43.19
T3	6.10	20.77	33.92	41.03
T4	6.08	19.31	32.24	38.56
T5	8.23	27.77	40.64	51.06
T6	7.07	23.25	37.22	46.13
T7	6.80	22.55	35.19	44.33
T8	7.67	26.53	39.25	50.08
F Test	S	S	S	S
SEd (±)	0.38	0.55	0.73	0.89
CD (P=0.05)	1.14	3.71	4.74	5.78

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Effect of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on dry weight (g) of finger millet

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Effect of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on relative growth rate (g g -1 day -1) of finger millet at different intervals.

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Effect of different types of mulching and biofertilizer on crop growth rate (g m-2 day-1) of finger millet at different intervals.

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