Influence of nitrogen management on yield and economics of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) varieties

Introduction

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is the sixth most important cereal crop in the world and the fourth most important food grain crop in India after rice, wheat, and maize. In India, it is popularly known as Bajra or Bajri and is also referred to as cattail, bulrush, or spiked millet because of its characteristic ear head. The crop originated in tropical western Africa and belongs to the family Poaceae. Among the cultivated species, Pennisetum glaucum (2n = 14) is primarily grown for grain production, whereas Pennisetum purpureum (2n = 28) is cultivated mainly for green and dry fodder. Pearl millet is an important dual-purpose crop, serving as a staple food for millions of people while also providing valuable fodder for livestock. As a C4 plant, it possesses high photosynthetic efficiency, enabling greater dry matter production with fewer inputs and making it highly suitable for cultivation under drought-prone and marginal environments. This characteristic ensures better economic returns for farmers, particularly in arid and semiarid regions (Reddy et al. 2022) [1] . Owing to its exceptional tolerance to drought, high temperatures, and poor soil conditions, pearl millet is considered one of the most resilient cereal crops and has significant potential for sustaining food security under changing climatic conditions. Pearl millet contributes approximately 10.7 per cent of India's total food grain production. The major pearl millet-growing states include Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu, where the crop is cultivated during both the kharif and summer seasons. Rajasthan is the leading producer, contributing nearly 45 per cent of the country's total production, followed by Uttar Pradesh (19%), Haryana (9%), Gujarat (9%), Maharashtra (6%), and Tamil Nadu (2%) (Directorate of Millets Development, 2021-22; Project Coordinator Review, 2022) [2,3] .

In Maharashtra, pearl millet is predominantly cultivated in the hilly and drought-prone regions of the central plateau on relatively poor soils. Major cultivating districts include Beed, Nashik, Dhule, Satara, Pune, Sangli, Aurangabad, Solapur, Jalgaon, and Ahmednagar. The crop occupies about 1.035 million hectares in the state, producing approximately 1.123 million tonnes with an average productivity of 1,086 kg/ha (Areshwar et al. 2018) [4] . At the national level, pearl millet was cultivated over 7.41 million hectares during 2020-21, producing 9.35 million tonnes with an average productivity of 1,391 kg/ha. According to the Government of India (2022) [5] , the crop currently occupies around 7.8 million hectares, with a production of 9.25 million tonnes and an average productivity of 1,270 kg/ha. In the Agra region of Uttar Pradesh, pearl millet plays an important role in both human and animal nutrition and forms an integral component of sustainable cropping systems. The pearl millet-lentil cropping sequence is particularly popular because it requires relatively low water and labour inputs compared to many other cropping systems. In most cases, chemical fertilizers are applied only to the pearl millet crop, while the succeeding lentil crop benefits from the residual nutrients. Continuous cultivation, however, has resulted in the depletion of both macroand micronutrients in the soil, leading to declining soil fertility and reduced crop productivity. Therefore, balanced nutrient management has become essential for maintaining sustainable yields. Among all plant nutrients, nitrogen is considered the most important for crop growth and development. It is a vital component of amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), enzymes, vitamins, hormones, alkaloids, and several other cellular constituents. Adequate nitrogen availability promotes vigorous vegetative growth, enhances chlorophyll formation, and imparts a healthy dark green colour to plants. Proper and judicious nitrogen fertilization not only increases grain yield but also improves forage quality by enhancing protein content (Ayub et al., 2007) [6] . Although pearl millet is traditionally regarded as a crop capable of producing satisfactory yields under low nitrogen conditions (Gascho, 1995) [7] , several studies have demonstrated that nitrogen application significantly improves its productivity and nutrient use efficiency (Singh et al., 2010; Srinivasarao et al., 2013) [8,9] . Recent advances in nanotechnology have introduced nano urea as an innovative liquid nitrogen fertilizer that enhances nitrogen use efficiency while minimizing nutrient losses and environmental pollution. Nano urea provides nitrogen directly to plants in a more efficient manner than conventional urea, thereby reducing fertilizer requirements and improving crop performance. Nano fertilizers also increase nutrient use efficiency, promote photosynthesis through enhanced metabolic activity, improve dry matter accumulation, and ultimately increase crop yield and quality. Their application supports precision agriculture by enabling targeted nutrient management and reducing cultivation costs (Qureshi et al. 2018) [10] . Another sustainable approach to nutrient management involves the use of beneficial microorganisms such as Azotobacter. These free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria improve soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen and promoting plant growth through the production of growthpromoting substances. Their beneficial effects extend beyond biological nitrogen fixation, as they also enhance nutrient availability, improve root development, and stimulate overall plant growth. The use of Azotobacter can reduce dependence on chemical nitrogen fertilizers, lower production costs, minimize nitrate leaching into groundwater, and reduce emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential nearly 300 times greater than carbon dioxide (Singh et al., 2016) [11,12] . Considering the importance of pearl millet in ensuring food and fodder security, along with the need for sustainable nutrient management, integrating nitrogen fertilization with innovative inputs such as nano urea and biofertilizers like Azotobacter offers a promising strategy for improving crop productivity, nutrient use efficiency, and environmental sustainability.

Materials and Methods

An experiment was conducted during the Kharif season 2025. In the alluvial soil at the Crop Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, NAI, SHUATS, Prayagraj, U.P. It is situated 98 meters above mean sea level at latitude 250 24 42 N, longitude 810 50 56 E. About five kilometers from Prayagraj city, this location lies on the right bank of the Yamuna River beside Prayagraj Rewa Road. At a depth of 0-30 cm, a composite soil sample was taken. It underwent crushing, air drying, and physical and chemical testing. The soil of experimental plot was sandy loam in texture, nearly neutral in soil reaction (PH 7.1), low in organic carbon (0.36 %), Available N (171.48 kg/ha), Available P (15.2kg/ha) and available K (232.5kg/ha). The seed were sown on 12 th August 2025, with spacing 45 cm x 15 cm in line sowing. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized block design with nine treatments replicated thrice. The treatment details are as follows T -MPMH21 + 100% RDN T -MPMH21 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS, T 3 -MPMH21 + Azotobacter seed inoculation + 4% Nano urea spray at 45 DAS, T₄-86 M 90 + 100 % RDN + Azotobacter seed inoculation, T₅-86M90+75 % RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS, T₆-86M90+A zotobacter seed inoculation + 4% Nano urea spray at 45 DAS, T 7 -MD1722 + 100% RDN, T 8 -MD1722 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS, T 9 -MD1722 + Azotobacter seed inoculation + 4% Nano urea spray at 45 DAS. To apply nutrients as a spreading method, 4-5 cm deep furrows were dug along the seed rows using a hand hoeing. Ten days after sowing, the gaps were filled by transplanting once germination took place. Whereas necessary, seeds were trimmed out to maintain 45 cm x 15 cm spacing. In order to reduce crop density, weed competition, intercultural operations were carried out between 25-and 45-days intervals. On 25 th October 2025, harvesting of the crop was done. At regular intervals from germination to harvest. At harvest, yield metrics such as Ear head length (cm), No. of Grains/ear head, test weight (g), seed yield (kg/ha), straw yield (kg/ha), and harvest index (%) were measured at 20, 40, 60 and 80 DAS. Whereas, Economics analysis i.e. cost of cultivation, gross return, net return and benefit cost ratio was observed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), as it relates to randomized block design, was used to statistically examine the observed data of nine treatments (Gomez and Gomez, 1984 and Mohan et al. 2024) [13] .

Result and Discussion

Post-Harvest Observations Length of Ear head (cm) Significantly higher ear head length (24.22 cm) was observed in treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). However, 3 (MPMH21 + Azotobacter seed inoculation + 4% Nano urea spray at 45 DAS) and treatment 4 (86M90 + 100% RDN) was found to be statistically at par with the treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). The increase in ear head density with higher nitrogen levels may be attributed to enhanced tillering capacity and improved survival of tillers. Nitrogen plays a vital role in promoting vegetative growth, leading to increased formation of tillers, many of which develop into productive ear heads. NPK application can be attributed to a general development in plant growth as replicated by increased dry matter accumulation, which may be due to an increased availability of nutrients to plants at the flowering stage, which might take greater effective tiller formation and ultimately increased ear head length. The increase in ear head length (cm) may be attributed to physiological and metabolic processes with increases in tiller initiation and survival. Sharma et al. (2012) [14] and Sharma et al. (2008) [15] .

Number of grains/ear head

Significantly maximum number of grains/ear head (1482.85) was observed in treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). However, treatment 6 (86M90 + Azotobacter seed inoculation + 4% Nano urea spray at 45 DAS), treatment 7 (MD1722 + 100% RDN), and treatment 8 (MD1722 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS) were found to be statistically at par with the treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). The improvement in grain number with higher nitrogen application may be attributed to enhanced vegetative growth and better development of reproductive structures. Adequate nitrogen supply during critical growth stages promotes panicle development, floret initiation, and reduces floret abortion, thereby increasing the number of grains per ear head. These results are in agreement with Chouhan et al. (2015) [16] , who reported that nitrogen plays a vital role in reproductive development and yield formation in cereals.

Highest test weight (8.21 g) was recorded in Treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). However, there was no significant difference among the treatments. Test weight was not influenced by the application of different Varieties and nitrogen effect which might be due to characters highly influenced by its genetic make-up. Optimal nitrogen (N) management significantly increases pearl millet test weight (1000-grain weight) by enhancing plant physiological processes, with top results often found using 75-100% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) combined with organic manures, reaching test weights around Nitrogen boosts grain filling through improved photosynthesis and nutrient uptake was similar to Arshad et al. (2016) [17] .

Grain Yield (t/ha) Significantly higher grain yield (3.83 t/ha) was recorded in treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). However, treatment 6 (86M90 + Azotobacter seed inoculation + 4% Nano urea spray at 45 DAS) was found to be statistically at par with the treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). Applying nitrogen might be applied to improve vegetative development, probably uptake and utilization of other elements fascinated by its wide root system developed by NPK imitation. The increase in grain yield with higher nitrogen levels can be attributed to enhanced vegetative growth, improved leaf area index, and higher photosynthetic activity, which ultimately led to better assimilate production and translocation towards reproductive organs. Nitrogen also plays a crucial role in the formation of yield-attributing characters such as number of effective tillers, earhead length, and grain weight. Similar findings were previously published by Sharma et al., (2012) [14] and Singh et al., (2016) [11] .

Stover yield (t/ha) Significantly higher stover yield (7.55 t/ha) was recorded in treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). However, treatment 6 (86M90 + Azotobacter seed inoculation + 4% Nano urea spray at 45 DAS), treatment 7 (MD1722 + 100% RDN), and treatment 8 (MD1722 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS) were found to be statistically at par with the treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). The significantly higher stover yield recorded under Treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS) may be attributed to the improved nitrogen availability throughout the crop growth period. The enhanced nitrogen use efficiency of nano urea, coupled with a reduced basal nitrogen dose, could have contributed to greater stover production while minimizing nitrogen losses through volatilization and leaching. Similar findings have been reported by Srivastava et al. (2023) [18] . Who observed significantly higher stover yield in Pearl millet. The combined application of 75% recommended nitrogen dose (RDN) and foliar nano urea sprays at critical growth stages likely enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, chlorophyll synthesis, and vegetative growth, resulting in greater biomass accumulation. Nano urea, owing to its higher nutrient use efficiency and gradual nitrogen release, may have supplemented the crop's nitrogen requirement effectively while minimizing nitrogen losses Vasanth et al. (2025) [19] . These findings indicate that nano urea, either in combination with reduced fertilizer nitrogen or with biofertilizer inoculation, has the potential to maintain stover yield while reducing dependence on conventional nitrogen fertilizers Hemanth et al. (2025) [20] .

Highest harvest index (33.89 %) was recorded in Treatment 6 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% Nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS). However, there was no significant difference among the treatments. Application of different varieties and Nitrogen management could be attributed to increase vegetative growth, possibly the result of effective uptake and utilization of other nutrients absorbed through its extensive root system developed under different fertilization. The biological yield is a function of grain and straw yield. Thus, a significant increase in biological yield with the application of different potassium could be attributed to the increased grain and straw yield attributes and yield. The increase in grain and stover yields may be attributed to role of varieties as a catalyst or stimulant in most of the physiological and metabolic processes and metal activator or enzymes resulting in increased growth and development of plant. Similar results were also reported by Kumar et al., (2018) [21] .

Economics

Observations regarding economics of different treatments of pearl millet are given in table 3.

The cost of cultivation varied among the different treatments. The maximum cost of cultivation (INR. 38,144.00/ha) was recorded under Treatment 9 (MD1722 + Azotobacter seed inoculation + 4% nano urea spray at 45 DAS), whereas the minimum cost of cultivation (INR. 36,444.00/ha) was recorded under Treatment 1 (86M90 + 100% RDN).

The highest gross return (INR. 139,125.40/ha) was obtained under Treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS), which was superior to all other treatments.

The maximum net return (INR.102,081.40/ha) was also recorded under Treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS), indicating its economic superiority over the remaining treatments.

Benefit-Cost Ratio (B)

The highest benefit-cost ratio (2.76) was recorded under Treatment 5 (86M90 + 75% RDN + 4% nano urea spray at 30 and 45 DAS), demonstrating its greater economic viability compared to the other treatments. The higher gross return, net return, and benefit-cost ratio observed under Treatment 5 may be attributed to its higher grain and stover yields, which resulted from improved nutrient availability, enhanced assimilation rate, and better metabolic activities in the plants. These findings are in agreement with those reported by Kumar and Bobra (2014) [22] .

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementI am grateful to my advisor Prof (Dr.) Rajesh Singh as well as all of the faculty members of Department of Agronomy, NAI, SHUATS, Prayagraj, f or their unwavering support and advice throughout the entire experimental research study.

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