Effect of crop establishment methods, nutrient levels, and cow urine foliar spray on growth of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.) under organic production system

Introduction

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.), commonly known as ragi, is one of the most important small millets cultivated in India and several countries of Africa. Owing to its exceptional adaptability to drought, low soil fertility, and rainfed conditions, it is recognized as a climate-resilient crop suitable for marginal and tribal farming systems. In India, finger millet occupies about 1.13 million hectares with an annual production of 1.98 million tonnes and an average productivity of 15.95 q ha⁻¹ (Anonymous, 2024) [2] . Karnataka is the leading producer, followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh. Although finger millet has traditionally been cultivated in the tribal regions of Chhattisgarh, its productivity remains far below the national average because of poor soil fertility, inadequate nutrient management, and the continued adoption of traditional crop enzymes, hormones, and beneficial microorganisms. Foliar application of cow urine provides readily available nutrients directly to the foliage, stimulates physiological and metabolic activities, enhances chlorophyll formation, improves photosynthetic efficiency, and promotes cell division and vegetative growth. Its low cost, easy availability, and compatibility with organic farming make it an attractive input for sustainable crop production. Although the individual effects of crop establishment methods, organic nutrient management, and cow urine application on crop performance have been reported by several researchers, information on their combined influence under organic production systems is still limited. Furthermore, very little research has been conducted under the agro-ecological conditions of the Bastar Plateau of Chhattisgarh, where finger millet is primarily cultivated by tribal farmers under resource-constrained conditions. Scientific information on the interaction of these management practices is essential for developing integrated organic production strategies that enhance crop growth while maintaining soil health and environmental sustainability.

Materials & Methods

A field experiment was conducted during the summer seasons of 2021 and 2022 at the Research-cum-Instructional Farm, S.G. College of Agriculture and Research Station, Kumhrawand, Jagdalpur, affiliated with Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV), Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The experimental site is located in the Bastar Plateau Agroclimatic Zone (Zone VII) at an altitude of 552 m above mean sea level with a tropical climate and an average annual rainfall of about 1405 mm, most of which is received during June to September. Before sowing, composite soil samples (0-15 cm depth) were collected and analyzed. The experimental soil was slightly acidic (pH 6.3 and 6.2), low in available nitrogen (227.39 and 229.63 kg ha⁻¹), medium in available phosphorus (12.67 and 13.24 kg ha⁻¹), and medium in available potassium (278.56 and 278.71 kg ha⁻¹) during 2021 and 2022, respectively. The experiment was laid out in a split-split plot design with three replications. The main plot treatments comprised three crop establishment methods: M₁ -Square transplanting, M₂ -Line transplanting, and M₃ -Random transplanting. The sub-plot treatments consisted of four nutrient levels: N₁ -100% recommended dose of nutrients (RDN), N₂ -75% RDN, N₃ -50% RDN, and N₄ -Control. The sub-sub plot treatments included three levels of cow urine foliar spray: F₁ -20% cow urine spray, F₂ -10% cow urine spray, and F₃ -No foliar spray. The experiment was conducted under an organic production system to evaluate the effects of crop establishment methods, nutrient levels, and foliar application of cow urine on the growth of finger millet. Observations recorded during both years were subjected to statistical analysis, and pooled analysis was performed for interpretation of the results.

Results & discussion 1. Plant population m -2

The data presented in Table 1 indicate that plant population of finger millet was significantly influenced by crop establishment methods at both 30 DAT and harvest during 2021, 2022, and in the pooled analysis. Among the establishment methods, M₃ (Random transplanting) recorded significantly higher plant population at harvest (32.50, 31.56, and 32.03 m⁻² during 2021, 2022, and pooled analysis, respectively), whereas the lowest plant population was observed under M₁ (Square transplanting) during both years and in the pooled analysis. The higher plant population under random transplanting may be attributed to the accommodation of a greater number of plants per unit area, while the wider spacing adopted under square transplanting resulted in comparatively lower plant density. Similar observations were reported by Sarawale et al. (2017) [43] , who found that crop establishment methods and planting geometry significantly influenced plant stand in finger millet. Nutrient levels and foliar spray of cow urine did not exert a significant effect on plant population at either observation stage. This is likely because plant population is primarily determined by planting geometry and seedling establishment, whereas nutrient application and foliar sprays are imposed after crop establishment. Similar findings were reported by Vanukuri et al. (2022) [52] . Overall, the results indicate that crop establishment method was the principal factor governing plant population in finger millet, whereas nutrient levels and foliar application of cow urine had no significant influence.

The data presented in Table 2 revealed that plant height of finger millet was significantly influenced by crop establishment methods and nutrient levels at all growth stages during 2021, 2022, and in the pooled analysis. Foliar spray of cow urine significantly affected plant height at 30 DAT, 60 DAT, and harvest, whereas its effect was nonsignificant at 90 DAT. Among the crop establishment methods, M₁ (Square transplanting) recorded significantly taller plants at all growth stages and remained at par with M₂ (Line transplanting), while the shortest plants were observed under M₃ (Random transplanting) during both years and in the pooled analysis. The superior performance of square transplanting may be attributed to optimum plant spacing, better light interception, improved aeration, and efficient utilization of soil moisture and nutrients, resulting in enhanced vegetative growth. Similar findings were reported by Subbaiah et [8,20,34,39,40,48] . Nutrient levels also had a significant effect on plant height. N₁ (100% RDN) produced significantly taller plants. [16,21,45,53] . Foliar application of cow urine significantly increased plant height at [19,43] . The interaction effect between crop establishment methods and nutrient levels on plant height at 60 and 90 DAT was significant during 2021, 2022, and in the pooled analysis (Table 3). At 60 DAT, the interaction M₁ (Square transplanting) × N₁ (100% RDN) recorded the maximum plant height during both years and in the pooled analysis. [8,20,34] . The interaction effect between crop establishment methods and nutrient levels on plant height at harvest was significant during 2021, 2022, and in the pooled analysis ( [24,26,39] .

Number of tillers m -2

The data presented in [13,39,48] . Nutrient levels significantly influenced tiller production throughout the crop growth period. N₁ (100% RDN) recorded the highest number of tillers at all observation stages, whereas N₄ (Control) recorded the lowest during both years and in the pooled analysis. The superior performance under 100% RDN may be attributed to balanced nutrient availability through FYM, which improved soil physical properties, microbial activity, root growth, and nutrient uptake, thereby enhancing tiller initiation and survival. These findings are in agreement with Somashekara et al. (2015) [47] . Foliar spray of cow urine had a variable effect on tiller production. The effect was non-significant at 30 DAT, indicating that early tillering was not influenced by foliar application. However, F₁ (20% cow urine spray) recorded significantly higher tiller numbers at 60 DAT (during 2022 and pooled analysis) and at 90 DAT (during 2021 and pooled analysis), remaining statistically at par with F₂ (10% cow urine spray [19,43] . The interaction effect between crop establishment methods and nutrient levels on the number of tillers m⁻² at 60 and 90 DAT was significant during 2021, 2022, and in the pooled analysis ( [16,20,22,27] . [8,20,22] . Nutrient levels significantly affected dry matter accumulation throughout the crop growth period. N₁ (100% RDN) recorded the highest dry matter accumulation at all growth stages, whereas N₄ (Control) recorded the lowest during both years and in the pooled analysis. The increased dry matter accumulation under 100% RDN may be attributed to improved nutrient availability through FYM, which enhanced vegetative growth, leaf area development, and photosynthetic efficiency. These results are in agreement with Varalakshmi (2005), Shekara (2010), Harika (2019), and Kumar and Rana (2019) [16,21,45,53] . Foliar application of cow urine also significantly increased dry matter accumulation at all growth stages. F₁ (20% cow urine spray) recorded the highest dry matter accumulation and remained statistically at par with F₂ (10% cow urine spray) at harvest during both years, at [11,30,49] . The interaction effect between crop establishment methods and nutrient levels on dry matter accumulation was nonsignificant at 60 DAT during 2021, but significant during 2022 and in the pooled analysis. At 90 DAT, the interaction effect was significant during both years and in the pooled analysis ( [6, 20, 34, 47, 53s] . The interaction effect between crop establishment methods and nutrient levels on dry matter accumulation at harvest was significant during 2021, 2022, and in the pooled analysis (Table 7). The interaction M₁ (Square transplanting) × N₁ (100% RDN) recorded significantly the highest dry matter accumulation during both years and in the pooled analysis, whereas the lowest dry matter accumulation was observed under M₃ (Random transplanting) × N₄ (Control). The superior performance of M₁ × N₁ may be attributed to the combined effect of optimum crop geometry and adequate nutrient availability, which enhanced light interception, nutrient uptake, photosynthetic efficiency, and biomass accumulation. Uniform spacing under square transplanting, together with balanced nutrient supply through 100% RDN, ensured efficient utilization of soil moisture and nutrients, resulting in greater dry matter production up to harvest. These findings are in agreement with Varalakshmi (2005), Kumar (2018), Chandra (2021), and Rajan (2022) [8,20,22,34,53] .

Leaf area index (LAI)

The data presented in [8,20,22] . Nutrient levels also exerted a significant effect on LAI. N₁ (100% RDN) recorded the highest LAI throughout the crop growth period, whereas N₄ (Control) recorded the lowest during both years and in the pooled analysis. The increased

LAI under 100% RDN may be attributed to balanced nutrient availability, particularly nitrogen, which enhanced chlorophyll synthesis, cell division, and leaf expansion, resulting in vigorous vegetative growth. These findings are in agreement with Varalakshmi (2005), Shekara (2010), Harika (2019), and Kumar and Rana (2019) [16, 21, 45, 53s] . Foliar application of cow urine had no significant effect on LAI at 30 DAT; however, its effect became significant from 60 DAT to harvest. F₁ (20% cow urine spray) recorded the highest LAI during both years and in the pooled analysis and remained statistically at par with F₂ (10% cow urine spray) at 60 DAT. The lowest LAI was recorded under F₃ (No spray). The improvement in LAI with 20% cow urine spray may be attributed to the supply of readily available nutrients and natural growth-promoting substances, which enhanced nutrient uptake, leaf expansion, and photosynthetic efficiency, leading to greater canopy development. Similar observations were reported by Sutar (2008), Devakumar (2014), and Panse (2017) [11,30,49] . The interaction effect between crop establishment methods and nutrient levels on leaf area index (LAI) was significant at 60 and 90 DAT during 2021, 2022, and in the pooled analysis ( [8,20,22,38,50,53] . The interaction effect between crop establishment methods and nutrient levels on leaf area index (LAI) at harvest was significant during 2021, 2022, and in the pooled analysis (Table 9). The interaction M₁ (Square transplanting) × N₁ (100% RDN) recorded significantly the highest LAI during both years and in the pooled analysis, whereas the lowest LAI was observed under M₃ (Random transplanting) × N₄ (Control). The superior performance of M₁ × N₁ may be attributed to the combined effect of optimum crop geometry and adequate nutrient availability, which enhanced light interception, nutrient uptake, chlorophyll synthesis, leaf expansion, and canopy development, resulting in a larger photosynthetic surface area. In contrast, the lowest LAI under M₃ × N₄ may be due to irregular crop geometry and inadequate nutrient availability, which restricted leaf growth and canopy expansion. Similar findings were reported by Varalakshmi ( [1,4,8,20,27,34,53] . [1,22,27,34] . Nutrient levels significantly influenced CGR throughout the crop growth period. N₁ (100% RDN) recorded the highest CGR during all growth stages, while N₄ (Control) recorded the lowest during both years and in the pooled analysis. At 60-90 DAT, N₂ (75% RDN) remained statistically at par with N₁ (100% RDN) during 2022. The higher CGR under 100% RDN may be attributed to balanced nutrient availability, which enhanced nutrient uptake, chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthetic efficiency, and dry matter accumulation. These findings are in agreement with Varalakshmi (2005), Shekara (2010), and Harika (2019) [16,45,53] . Foliar application of cow urine had no significant effect on crop growth rate during any growth period. However, F₁ (20% cow urine spray) recorded numerically higher CGR than F₂ (10% cow urine spray) and F₃ (No spray) throughout the crop growth period. The numerical improvement may be attributed to the supplementary supply of nutrients and natural growth-promoting substances through cow urine, which enhanced metabolic activity.

Similar observations were reported by Somashekara (2015) and Gottimukkala (2019) [15,47] .

Relative growth rate (RGR)

The data presented in Fig. 4-6 revealed that relative growth rate (RGR) of finger millet was significantly influenced by nutrient levels, whereas the effect of crop establishment methods was significant only during the later growth stages. Foliar spray of cow urine did not significantly influence RGR during any of the growth periods. Among the crop establishment methods, differences in RGR during 30-60 DAT were non-significant. However, during 60-90 DAT, M₁ (Square transplanting) and M₂ (Line transplanting) recorded significantly higher RGR than M₃ (Random transplanting) during both years and in the pooled analysis.

During 90 DAT to harvest, M₁ (Square transplanting) recorded the highest RGR during 2021 and in the pooled analysis and remained statistically at par with M₂ (Line transplanting), whereas M₃ (Random transplanting) recorded the lowest RGR. The higher RGR under square transplanting may be attributed to optimum crop geometry, better utilization of light, moisture, and nutrients, which promoted efficient biomass production. Similar findings were reported by Narayan (2018), Aliveni (2021), and Rajan Kumar (2022) [1,22,27,34] . Nutrient levels significantly influenced RGR throughout the crop growth period. N₁ (100% RDN) recorded the highest RGR at all growth stages, while N₄ (Control) recorded the lowest during both years and in the pooled analysis. [16,45,53] . Foliar application of cow urine did not significantly influence RGR during any of the growth periods. Although F₁ (20% cow urine spray) recorded numerically higher RGR than the other treatments, the differences were statistically non-significant. This suggests that foliar application of cow urine had only a limited influence on relative biomass accumulation compared with crop establishment methods and nutrient levels. Similar observations were reported by Somashekara (2015) [47] . [1,27,34] . Nutrient levels significantly influenced NAR during 30-60 DAT and 60-90 DAT. N₁ (100% RDN) recorded the highest NAR, whereas N₄ (Control) recorded the lowest during both years and in the pooled analysis. During 90 DAT to harvest, N₃ (50% RDN) exhibited the highest negative NAR, while N₄ (Control) recorded the lowest negative value. The higher NAR under N₁ may be attributed to balanced nutrient availability, which enhanced chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthetic activity, and assimilate production. These findings are in agreement with Varalakshmi (2005), Shekara (2010), and Harika (2019) [16,45,53] . Foliar application of cow urine did not significantly influence NAR during either experimental year, although F₁ (20% cow urine spray) recorded numerically higher NAR than F₂ (10% cow urine spray) and F₃ (No spray). On the pooled basis, its effect was significant during both growth periods. The improvement may be attributed to the supply of readily available nutrients and natural growth-promoting substances that enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and dry matter production. Similar observations were reported by Sutar (2008) and Devakumar (2014) [11,49] . The negative NAR observed during 90 DAT to harvest is a normal physiological phenomenon associated with crop maturity. At this stage, photosynthetic activity declines due to leaf senescence, while stored assimilates are remobilized from vegetative tissues to developing grains, resulting in negative NAR values. Similar trends have been reported by Radford (1967) and Hunt (1990) [17,33] .

Conclusion

The present investigation demonstrated that growth of finger millet under an organic production system was markedly influenced by crop establishment methods and nutrient levels, whereas the effect of foliar application of cow urine was comparatively limited. Among the crop establishment methods, square transplanting (M₁) consistently produced superior growth by recording higher plant height, dry matter accumulation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Crop Growth Rate (CGR), Relative Growth Rate (RGR), and Net Assimilation Rate (NAR). It also resulted in greater tiller production at the later growth stages, indicating the advantage of optimum crop geometry for efficient utilization of light, moisture, and nutrients. Among the nutrient levels, application of 100% recommended dose of nutrients (N₁) through organic sources significantly enhanced all growth parameters throughout the crop growth period. Adequate nutrient availability under this treatment promoted vigorous vegetative growth, improved canopy development, higher biomass accumulation, and superior physiological efficiency compared with reduced nutrient levels and the control. Foliar application of 20% cow urine (F₁) improved plant height, dry matter accumulation, and leaf area index over the no-spray treatment, although its influence on crop growth rate, relative growth rate, and net assimilation rate was generally non-significant. This indicates that cow urine acted as a supplementary organic input that enhanced vegetative growth but had a comparatively smaller effect than crop establishment method and nutrient management. The interaction between square transplanting and 100% RDN (M₁ × N₁) consistently recorded the highest values for plant height, tiller production, dry matter accumulation, and leaf area index, demonstrating the synergistic effect of optimum crop geometry and adequate nutrient supply under organic cultivation. Overall, the study concludes that square transplanting combined with 100% recommended dose of nutrients under an organic production system is the most effective management practice for promoting vigorous growth of finger millet under the Bastar Plateau conditions of Chhattisgarh. Foliar application of 20% cow urine may be recommended as a complementary practice to improve vegetative growth and support sustainable organic finger millet production.

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