Influence of Nitrogen and Micronutrient Application on the Yield Components and Productivity of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.)

Abstract

A field study was carried out during the Kharif season of 2024 at the research farm of Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur, on loamy sand soil. The experiment involved nine treatment combinations of nitrogen and micronutrient applications, including: 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) with soil application of FeSO₄ at 10 kg/ha; 100% RDN with soil application of ZnSO₄ at 25 kg/ha; 100% RDN with foliar application of 1.0% FeSO₄ at 25 and 50 days after sowing (DAS); 100% RDN with foliar application of 0.5% ZnSO₄ at 25 and 50 DAS; 75% RDN + 25% nitrogen via farmyard manure (FYM) with soil-applied FeSO₄ (10 kg/ha); 75% RDN + 25% FYM with soil-applied ZnSO₄ (25 kg/ha); 75% RDN + 25% FYM with foliar spray of 1.0% FeSO₄ at 25 and 50 DAS; 75% RDN + 25% FYM with foliar spray of 0.5% ZnSO₄ at 25 and 50 DAS; and a control with 100% RDN applied through chemical fertilizers. The layout followed a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The findings revealed that the treatment T4 (100% RDN + 0.5% foliar spray of ZnSO₄) significantly outperformed others in terms of yield attributes such as earhead length, number of effective tillers, test weight, grain yield (1949 kg/ha), and biological yield (6242 kg/ha).