Response of micronutrient on growth and yield of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.)

Introduction

Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek] is a legume crop rich in proteins, amino acids, minerals, dietary fibers, sugars and vitamins. It serves as a vital dietary component for the people in arid and semi-arid regions. The high protein content along with digestibility improves the nutritional intake of vegetarian communities and supports food security. Globally mungbean is grown in 7.3 million hectares with average production of about 721 kg/ha. It plays major role in crop rotation systems due to its commercial value as well as its ability to enrich soil fertility through nitrogen fixation resulting in higher yield of subsequent crops, thus enhancing overall agricultural productivity. Being a short duration crop and its ability to withstand moisture stress, mungbean is a better option in cropping systems, owing to increasing the productivity both as an intercrop and fodder crop. Mungbean is cultivated both as a pulse and vegetable crop. Despite its commercial value and cultivation, the crop suffers from various biotic and abiotic stresses. Among the biotic stresses, Dry root rot disease caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi.) Goid is becoming an emerging disease in Asia Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) is an important millet crop originally native to the Ethiopian highlands and was introduced to India about 4000 years ago (Dida and Devos 2006) [3] . India is the largest producer of various kinds of millets. Out of the total minor millets produced, finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) (ragi) accounts for about 85 percent of production in India. Finger millet is grown in India, Srilanka, Nepal, parts of Africa, Madagaskar, Malaysia, Uganda and Japan. In India, finger millet is cultivated over an area of 1.04 million hectares with a production of 1.39 million tonne giving an average productivity of 1661 kg ha -1 (Anonymous, 2023-2024) [1] . In Maharashtra, it is cultivated over an area 72338 ha, with production 81042 tonnes productivity and average productivity 1120 kg ha -1 (Anonymous, 2024) [2] . Finger millet is rich source of essential micro nutrients and minerals. Like iron (3.9 mg), calcium (344 mg), magnesium (287 mg), zinc (2.7 mg) 100 gm -1 of millets which are vital for bone health, red blood cell production and muscle functions (Davis et al., 2021) [4] (Shahi et al., 2022) [7] . They contain various vitamins, including B vitamins such as niacin (1.2 mg), riboflavin (0.29 mg) and thiamine (0.33 mg) and dietary fiber (3.6 g) which play critical roles in metabolism and overall health (Johnson and Smith, 2019). Research conducted by (Smith and Brown, 2018) [18] found that low glycemic index which are beneficial for stablilize blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes. Also contain a variety of antioxidants and phytochemicals that contribute to their health benefits. These compounds, such as phenolic acids (150 mg) and flavonoids (25 mg), tannis (12 mg), quercetin (3.5 mg) and catechins (2 mg) have been shown to possess strong antioxidant properties, helping to combat oxidative stress and reduce the risk of chronic diseases (Robinson et al., 2017) [6] . According to a research project by the Indian Institute of Soil Science, there were deficiencies in India's soils of roughly 48.1 per cent Zn, 11.2 per cent Fe, 7 per cent Cu and 5.1 per cent Mn (Kumar et al., 2018). The soil must be supplemented with micronutrients both through foliage and soil treatment in order to address micronutrient shortages and enhance the soil's micronutrient status. No any specific research of soil and foliar application of micronutrients in finger millet is available to the farmers. For these purpose despite growing interest in millet, the research gaps in understanding of micronutrient requirement, their combination with GRDF and application for which foliar micronutrient grade is useful for production of millets.

Materials and Methods

The experiment consisted of ten treatments viz., T 1: Absolute Control; T 2: RDF (60:30:30 N, P 2 O 5 , K 2 O kg ha -1 ); T 3: GRDF (60:30:30 N, P 2 O 5 , K 2 O kg ha -1 +FYM @ 5 t ha -1 )); T 4: GRDF + Soil application of ZnSO 4 @ 20 kg ha -1 ; T 5: GRDF + Soil application of FeSO 4 @ 25 kg ha -1 ; T 6: GRDF + Soil application of Borax @ 5 kg ha -1 ; T 7: GRDF + Soil application of Multi-Micronutrient Grade I @ 25 kg ha -1 ; T 8: GRDF + Two Foliar Spray of 0.5% Boric acid at 30 and 45 DAS; T 9: GRDF + Two Foliar Spray of Phule Liquid Micro Grade II @ 1% at 30 and 45 DAS; T 10: GRDF + Two Foliar Spray of Chelated Zn @ 0.1% + Chelated Fe @ 0.1% at 30 and 45 DAS. General Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (GRDF) is common to all except T 1 and T 2 . Soil application of micronutrient given at the time of sowing with the basal dose. Foliar spray given at vegetative stage (30 DAS) and flowering stage (45 DAS). The soil texture of the experimental site was found to be clayey in mixture. The chemical composition according to criteria laid out by Muhr et al. (1965) The soil texture of experimental field was clay, low in available nitrogen (180.67 kg ha -1 ), medium in available phosphorus (18.87 kg ha -1 ) and very high in available potassium (378.51 kg ha -1 ). The soil in the experimental field was moderately alkaline (pH 8.18) with 0.53 per cent organic carbon, soil electrical conductivity was 0.32 dSm -1 . The soil available micronutrients were Fe (4.15 mg kg -1 ), Mn (3.52 mg kg -1 ), Cu (0.42 mg kg -1 ) Zn (0.44 mg kg -1 ) and B (0.38 mg kg -1 ). The experiment was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The Phule Kasari variety seeds were line sown at spacing of 30 cm x 10 cm. Periodical observations on the growth character, yield contributing characters, grain yield and straw yield were recorded during investigation.

Results and Discussion

Growth parameters

The growth and yield attributes of finger millet crop i.e. plant height, number of productive tillers plant -1 , number of functional leaves plant -1 , leaf area plant -1 , dry matter accumulation plant -1 and with application of GRDF + soil application of Multi-micronutrient Grade I @ 25 kg ha - 1 (T 7 )exhibited significantly higher plant height (115.75 cm), number of leaves plant -1 (45.33), leaf area plant -1 (11.45 dm 2 ) and dry matter accumulation plant -1 (55.68 g), number of fingers earhead -1 (8.10)than rest of all treatments but it was at par with the application of GRDF + Two foliar sprays of Phule Liquid Micro Grade-II @ 1% at 30 and 45 DAS(T 9 ) and GRDF + Soil application of FeSO 4 @ 25 kg ha -1 (T 5 ). Similarly, it also recorded maximum thousand seed weight (3.11 g)as compared rest of all treatments. The GRDF was beneficial to provide major nutrients, with all these combinations of major and micronutrients are beneficial for growth of finger millet. Iron plays important role in metabolism of chlorophyll while zinc is involved in carbohydrate metabolism, protein synthesis as well as boron regulate sugar transport through cell membrane, growth and development of cell etc. Copper and manganese are essential for energy transfer, photosynthesis activities and protoplast development. The results are in conformity with Chowdary and Patra (2019) [13] , Maharana and Singh (2021) [12] , Rathnakar et al. (2022) [15] , Senthamilet al. (2021) [16] , Krishna and Dawson (2022) [14] .

Yield parameters and yield

Among different micronutrient sources and different methods of application to finger millet crop recorded significant differences.

The GRDF + Soil application of Multi-Micronutrient Grade I @ 25 kg ha -1 (T 7 ) registered significantly higher grain, straw and biological yield (2457, 3930 and 6387 kg ha -1 ) than rest of all treatments but it was at par with the application of application of GRDF + Two foliar sprays of Phule Liquid Micro Grade-II @ 1% at 30 and 45 DAS(T 9 ) and GRDF + Soil application of FeSO 4 @ 25 kg ha -1 (T 5 ). Similarly, higher yield and yield parameters are resulted into significantly higher harvest index of the treatment T 7 (GRDF + Soil application of Multi-Micronutrient Grade I @ 25 kg ha -1 ) is 38.46%. The highest grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, harvest index is obtained due to the availability of applied GRDF along with soil application of Multi-Micronutrient Grade I @ 25 kg ha -1 which is beneficial for availability of macro and micro essential nutrients and their absorption in higher amount. The efficient utilization of zinc helped in the synthesis of IAA and uptake of water. Boron boosts the salt absorption, hormone movement and carbohydrate metabolism and vegetative growth of plants, which are ultimately resulted into higher straw yield. The same findings were also reported by Prashanta et al. (2019) [19] and Vijayakumar et al. (2020) [17] .

Conclusion

Among different micronutrient sources and different methods of application, the application of GRDF (5 ton FYM + 60:30:30 N: P 2 O 5: K 2 O kg ha -1 ) + Soil application of Multi-Micronutrient Grade I @ 25 kg ha -1 exhibited significantly higher growth and yield of finger millets. Secondly for foliar sprays, application GRDF (5 ton FYM + 60:30:30 N: P 2 O 5: K 2 O kg ha -1 )+ Two foliar sprays of Phule Liquid Micro Grade II @ 1% at 30 and 45 DAS is beneficial for higher grain yield of finger millet.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementWe are very thankful to the Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma PhuleKrishiVidyapeeth, Rahuri for providing all facilities and research grants to carry out this experimental work and authors cited in references for providing necessary literature material.

References

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