Effect of vermicompost and panchagavya on growth and yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum)

Introduction

Pearl millet belongs to Gramineae family. The common name of pearl millet is Bajri in Gujarati and Bajra in Hindi. Millet is a group of small-grained cereal grown around the world for food & fodder. Millet is short day, warm weather plant and it is well adopted & cultivated under harsh environment of arid and semi-arid regions. It is highly nutritious cereal with high levels of metabolizable energy, protein (9 to 15%), fat (5%) and mineral (2 to 7%). Pearl millet is the sixth most important and widely grown potential cereal crop in the world and is the fourth in India, after rice, wheat and maize (Mushar et al., 2023) [7] In India, millets are produced in most of the states characterized by low to moderate precipitation (200-800 mm rainfall).'An important staple cereal crop for millions of smallholder dryland farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, millets offer nutrition, resilience, income and livelihood for farmers. They have multiple untapped uses such as food, feed, fodder, biofuels and brewing. Therefore, millets are Smart Food as they are good for consumers, good for the farmer and good for the Planet. Vermicompost has now been advocated as good organic manure for use in integrated management practices in the field crops. Use of vermicompost as a biofertilizer and substitute for chemical fertilizers is advised by pioneers of organic farming. It was also thought that yearly application of this manure would encourage earthworm in a great and sufficient numbers. Vermicompost has approximately double the amount of nutrients as compared to FYM which improves physical and chemical properties of soil. Vermicompost improves the physical and biological properties of soil including supply of almost all that essential plant nutrients for the growth and development of plant, ultimately increased the plant height and number of effective tillers per meter row length. Vermicompost and fertility level influenced the grain weight per ear head of the Bajri crop. Panchagavya, an organic product is the potential source to play the role for promoting growth and providing immunity in plant system.

Panchagavya is a bio promoter with a combination of five products obtained from the cow viz., cow dung, cow urine, cow milk, cow curd and cow ghee. Cow urine is a good source of nitrogen to the growth; however, its excess application to soil needs monitoring to avoid salinity and its effect on soil microflora. Cow dung which is used in most of the liquid organic manure preparations is a good source of organic matter and encourages microbial population. Milk products like curd, butter and ghee which are generally used in most of the liquid organic manures encourages variety of beneficial microorganisms during fermentation process. Panchagavya acts as growth promoter (75%)and immunity booster (25%) and exactly fills the missing link to sustain the organic farming without any field loss. Biochemical properties of Panchagavya revealed that it contains macro elements like N, P, K and micronutrients Fe, Mn and Zn. However, growth promoting substance like, IAA and GA present in Panchagavya required for crop growth as well as the predominance of fermentative microorganisms like yeast, Azotobacter, phoshphobacteria and Lactobacillus. Role of foliar application or seed soaking of Panchagavya in production of many plantation crops had been well documented in India.

Materials and Methods

Experimental sites and soil

The site of the investigation comes under subtropical zone located at Central Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) during the year 2022-2024.

Treatments used for the experiment Factor 1: Levels of Vermicompost i) Control ii) Vermicompost 2 t/ha iii) Vermicompost 4 t/ha iv) Vermicompost 6 t/ha Factor 2: Panchagavya (Foliar application) i) Panchagavya 2% ii) Panchagavya 4% iii) Panchagavya 6%

The experiment was laid out in Randomized block design in three replication. The treatment was laid in the treatments (T1) Control + Panchagavya 2%, (T2) Control + Panchagavya 4%, (T3) Control + Panchagavya 6%, (T4) Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%, (T5) Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%, (T6) Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%, (T7) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%, ( T8) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%, (T9) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%, (T10) Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%, (T11) Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%, (T12) Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% each treatment carried out in three plot, total 36 plots also shown in table 1 given below: For calculating the height of plant randomly 5 plants From each Plot were selected and then height was measured from the ground level with the help of measuring tape at days 20, 40, 60 and 80 after Sowing which was measured in cm.

For calculating the Dry weight of plant randomly 5 plants From each Plot were selected and then Weight was measured with the help of weighting balance at days 20, 40, 60 and 80 after Sowing which was measured in gram.

It represents dry weight gained by a unit area of crop in a unit time expressed as g/m 2/ day. The values of plant dry weight at 0-20, 20-40, 40-60 and 60-80 intervals were used for calculating the CGR. The value of CGR is expressed in (g/m 2 /day).

W2-W1 CGR = S (t2-t1)

Where W1 and W2 were the dry matter weights per unit ground area at time T1 and T2, respectively S was spacing.

The relative growth rate (RGR) indicates the amount of growth per unit dry weight of plant per unit time. It is expressed as g/g/day (Williams, 1946) [9] of existing dry matter in a day. The values were computed between 20-40, 40-60 and 60-80 DAS.

The RGR was worked out with the help of following formula following formula:

Where Loge W1 and Loge W2 are the natural logarithm of total dry weight of plant at the time interval T2 and T1, respectively

The length of head measured with the help of measuring scale by selecting 5 random head, this is measured from the neck of the millet up to tip of head. It is measured in cm.

Number of grains/heads

The number of grain means how much grains are present in each head on millet, these were counted by selected random heads which were 5 in numbers.

The weight of 1000 seeds is a test weight. One thousand grains were randomly counted from panicles obtained from each plot and weighed and recorded as test weight (g).

Five plants were selected randomly from each plot and tagged. The average grain yield (g) of this plant was recorded.

After removing the grain yield all leftover of the plant as organic part weighted together in tonnes, this were collected by making bundles.

Economic yield (kg/ha) Harvest index (%) =

x 100 Biological yield (kg/ha)

It is expressed through the layout of the table 2 that there was significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on Plant height except 20 DAS. At 20 DAS the maximum (8.97) height was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T11 (8.95) Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%. Whereas, the minimum (8.30) Height was recorded in T5 Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%. At 40 DAS the maximum (37.12) height was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (35.91) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (31.08) Height was recorded in T5 Control + Panchagavya 2%. At 60 DAS the maximum (86.24) height was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (83.89) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (72.51) Height was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%. At 80 DAS the maximum (121.70) height was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (119.38) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (100.53) Height was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%.

Plant Dry weight

It is expressed through the layout of the table 2 that there was significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on Plant Dry weight Except 20 DAS. At 20 DAS the maximum (3.64) dry weight was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T7 (3.16) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%. Whereas, the minimum (2.48) Dry weight was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%. At 40 DAS the maximum (21.04) dry weight was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T8 (19.52) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%. Whereas, the minimum (16.43) Dry weight was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%. At 60 DAS the maximum (43.32) dry weight was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (8.95) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (33.17) Dry weight was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%. At 80 DAS the maximum (55.14) dry weight was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (53.88) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (43.79) Dry weight was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 4%.

Crop Growth Rate (CGR)

It is expressed through the layout of the table 2 that there was Non-significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on CGR Except 40-60 DAS. At 0-20 DAS the maximum (4.05) CGR was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T7 (3.52) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%. Whereas, the minimum (2.76) CGR was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%. At 20-40 DAS the maximum (19.33) CGR was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T8 (18.58) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%. Whereas, the minimum (15.50) CGR was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%. At 40-60 DAS the maximum (26.62) CGR was recorded in T9 Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T4 (26.05) Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%. Whereas, the minimum (18.60) CGR was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%. At 60-80 DAS the maximum (15.63) CGR was recorded in T7 Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 2% was followed by T12 (13.14) Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (8.12) CGR was recorded in T4 Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%.

Relative Growth Rate (RGR)

It is expressed through the layout of the table 2 that there was Non-significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on RGR 0-20, 40-60, 60-80 DAS. At 20-40 DAS the maximum (0.09744) RGR was recorded in T6 Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T8 (1.67) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%. Whereas, the minimum (0.08653) RGR was recorded in T2 Control + Panchagavya 4%. At 40-60 DAS the maximum (0.04276) RGR was recorded in T4 Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 2% was followed by T9 (0.04157) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (0.03350) RGR was recorded in T7 Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%. At 60-80 DAS the maximum (0.01659) RGR was recorded in T7 Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 2% was followed by T5 (0.01329) Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%. Whereas, the minimum (0.00815) RGR was recorded in T4 Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%.

It is expressed through the layout of the table 3 that there was significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on Ear head length. However, the maximum (18.88) Ear head length was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (17.84) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (14.12) Ear head length was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%.

Grains per Ear head

It is expressed through the layout of the table 3 that there was significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on Grains per Ear. However, the maximum (1908.48) Grains per Ear was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (1766.22) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (1.42) Grains per Ear was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%.

It is expressed through the layout of the table 3 that there was significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on Test weight (g). However, the maximum (8.64) Test weight was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (8.30) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (5.93) Test weight was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%.

It is expressed through the layout of the table 3 that there was significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on Seed Yield. However, the maximum (3.19) Seed Yield was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (8.30) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (1.71) Seed Yield was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%.

It is expressed through the layout of the table 3 that there was significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on Stover yield. However, the maximum (5.89) Stover yield was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T9 (5.65) Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 6%. Whereas, the minimum (4.21) Stover yield was recorded in T1 Control + Panchagavya 2%.

It is expressed through the layout of the table 3 that there was Non-significant effect of Vermicompost and Panchagavya with various treatments on Harvest index. However, the maximum (39.53) Harvest Index was recorded in T12 Vermicompost 6 t/ha + Panchagavya 6% was followed by T5 (39.38) Vermicompost 2 t/ha + Panchagavya 4%. Whereas, the minimum (35.18) Harvest Index was recorded in T7 Vermicompost 4 t/ha + Panchagavya 2%.

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