Standardizing seedling age and planting geometry for higher productivity and profitability of translated finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) under Southern transition Zone of Karnataka

Introduction

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is one of the most important nutri-cereals cultivated in the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. In India, it is predominantly grown under rainfed conditions because of its remarkable adaptability to drought, poor soil fertility and erratic rainfall (Gebreyohannes et al., 2024) [3] Besides its resilience to climatic stresses, finger millet is recognized for its exceptional nutritional value owing to its high calcium, dietary fibre, essential amino acids and micronutrient contents, making it an important crop for ensuring nutritional security and climate-resilient agriculture. Recent reviews have also highlighted its increasing importance in sustainable food systems and crop diversification under changing climatic conditions (Wright and Devos, 2024) [15] . Finger millet productivity continues to remain below its attainable potential owing to several agronomic constraints, among which crop establishment is one of the most critical. Poor plant stand, inadequate tillering and inefficient utilization of water, nutrients, light and growing space collectively limit crop productivity and profitability (Hasanath et al., 2025) [5] . Therefore, optimizing crop establishment through appropriate agronomic interventions is essential for improving resource-use efficiency and maximizing the productivity of finger millet. Transplanting has emerged as an effective crop establishment technique in finger millet and forms an important component of improved cultivation practices. Proper transplanting promotes better root establishment, uniform crop stands, enhanced tillering, efficient utilization of soil moisture and nutrients and improved crop vigour compared with conventional establishment methods (Chakravarthi et al., 2024) [2] . However, the success of transplanting depends largely on the physiological stage of seedlings and the spatial arrangement of plants in the field (Rao, 2021) [11] . Seedling age plays a critical role in determining transplant establishment, root regeneration, tiller production and subsequent biomass accumulation. Likewise, planting geometry governs plant population density and regulates competition for light, water, nutrients and growing space. (Aliveni et al., 2025) [1] Appropriate spacing improves canopy architecture, light interception, aeration and nutrient acquisition, thereby enhancing yield and economic returns, whereas either excessively close or excessively wide spacing may reduce overall productivity because of increased competition or underutilization of available land resources (Tamilmozhi et al., 2022) [14] . Although several studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of seedling age and planting geometry on the growth and productivity of transplanted finger millet, most investigations have evaluated these factors independently. Comprehensive information on their interactive effects on yield attributes, productivity and profitability remains limited. Furthermore, identifying an optimum combination of seedling age and planting geometry is essential for developing efficient crop establishment strategies that maximize resource-use efficiency, improve crop productivity and enhance economic returns. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the interactive effects of different seedling ages and planting geometries on yield attributes, productivity and profitability of transplanted finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.).

Materials and Methods

Experimental site, soil and weather conditions

A field experiment was conducted during the kharif season of 2024 at the Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station (AHRS), Honnavile, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India, situated at 13.8459° N latitude and 75.4267° E longitude. The experiment was conducted using finger millet (Eleusine coracana) cultivar ML-365, a short to medium duration (105-110 days) variety characterized by drought tolerance and resistance to neck blast and most suitable for transplanting under irrigated tracts of Karnataka. The experimental field comprised red sandy loam soil with a neutral to slightly alkaline reaction (pH 7.4), electrical conductivity (EC) of 0.24 dS m -1 and organic carbon content of 0.47%, indicating non-saline soil with low to medium organic carbon status. The experiment was conducted under the humid tropical climatic conditions of the Southern Transition Zone of Karnataka. Weather during the crop growth period was characterized by warm and humid conditions. The mean maximum temperature ranged from 28.55 to 29.60 °C, while the mean minimum temperature varied from 20.35 to 21.85 °C. Morning relative humidity ranged from 81.60 to 90.80%, whereas afternoon relative humidity varied between 69.75 and 73.95%. The experimental site received a total rainfall of 675 mm during the crop growth period, with the highest monthly rainfall recorded in August (294 mm), followed by October (172 mm) and September (162 mm). The monthly meteorological observations recorded during the experimental period are presented in Table 1.

Experimental design and treatments

The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications, assigning seedling age to the main plots and planting geometry to the subplots. The main plot treatments consisted of three seedling ages: 14 days (A 1 ), 21 days (A 2 ), and 28 days (A 3 ). The subplot treatments comprised five planting geometries: 20 × 20 cm (S 1 ), 25 × 25 cm (S 2 ), 30 × 30 cm (S 3 ), 35 × 35 cm (S 4 ), and 30 × 10 cm (S 5 ).

A recommended fertilizer dose of 40 kg N, 20 kg P 2 O 5 and 20 kg K 2 O ha was uniformly applied to all treatments in accordance with the recommended package of practices for finger millet cultivation. All intercultural operations, including weed management and plant protection measures, were carried out uniformly across the treatments to ensure optimum crop growth.

Statistical analysis

The experimental data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) appropriate for a split-plot design, considering establishment method as the main plot factor and crop geometry as the sub-plot factor. The significance of treatment effects was tested using the F-test at the 5% probability level. Whenever the treatment effects were found to be significant, the means were compared using the Critical Difference (CD) at P = 0.05, as described by Gomez and Gomez (1984) [4] .

Results and Discussion

Yield attributes

Yield attributes of finger millet were significantly influenced by seedling age, planting geometry and their interaction, except for test weight, which remained unaffected by the treatments (Table 2). Among the establishment methods, transplanting 28-day-old seedlings (A 3 ) recorded significantly higher number of ear heads (84.12 m -2 ), ear head weight (6.97 g), number of fingers per ear head (4.79) and finger length (4.73 cm) than 14 and 21day-old seedlings. Among the planting geometries, the closer spacing of 30 × 10 cm (S 5 ) produced the maximum number of ear heads (115.23 m -2 ), whereas the wider spacing of 35 × 35 cm (S 4 ) recorded significantly higher ear head weight (9.72 g), number of fingers per ear head (5.58) and finger length (5.34 cm). The interaction between seedling age and planting geometry was significant for all yield attributes except test weight.

Transplanting 28-day-old seedlings at 30 × 10 cm spacing (A 3 S 5 ) produced the highest number of ear heads (131.00 m - 2 ), while 28-day-old seedlings transplanted at 35 × 35 cm spacing (A 3 S 4 ) recorded the highest ear head weight (9.72 g), number of fingers per ear head (6.12) and finger length (5.81 cm). Test weight did not differ significantly among the treatments, suggesting that grain size was primarily governed by varietal characteristics rather than crop establishment practices. [6] and Niharika et al.

Grain yield, straw yield and harvest index

Grain yield, straw yield and harvest index were significantly influenced by seedling age, planting geometry and their interaction (Table 3). Transplanting 28-day-old seedlings (A 3 ) produced significantly higher grain yield (3017.4 kg ha - 1 ), straw yield (4801.2 kg ha -1 ) and harvest index (0.39), followed by 21-day-old seedlings (A 2 ), whereas the lowest values were recorded with 14-day-old seedlings (A 1 ). Among the planting geometries, wider spacing of 35 × 35 cm (S 4 ) recorded the highest grain yield (2718.67 kg ha -1 ) and harvest index (0.39), while 30 × 30 cm spacing (S 3 ) produced the highest straw yield (4363.67 kg ha -1 ). The interaction effect of seedling age and planting geometry on grain yield is presented in Figure 1. Grain yield increased progressively with seedling age across all planting geometries, with 28-day-old seedlings consistently outperforming the younger seedlings. Among the treatment combinations, transplanting 28-day-old seedlings at 35 × 35 cm spacing (A 3 S 4 ) recorded the highest grain yield (3541 kg ha -1 ), whereas the lowest grain yield was obtained with 14day-old seedlings transplanted at 25 × 25 cm spacing (A 1 S 2 ). The higher straw yield (4971 kg ha -1 ) was recorded with 28day-old seedlings transplanted at 25 × 25 cm spacing (A 3 S 2 ), which was statistically comparable with 20 × 20 cm spacing (A 3 S 1 ). The increase in grain yield with 28-day-old seedlings was associated with the significant improvement in yield attributes, particularly ear head weight, finger length and the number of fingers per ear head, which enhanced the reproductive sink capacity and ultimately increased grain production. The higher grain yield recorded under 35 × 35 cm spacing indicates that improved expression of individual yield components compensated for the relatively lower plant population. In contrast, the higher plant density under 30 × 10 cm spacing increased the number of ear heads per unit area. However, the comparatively lower ear head weight and fewer fingers per ear head restricted grain yield. The significantly higher harvest index recorded with 28-day-old seedlings transplanted at 35 × 35 cm spacing further suggests a greater proportion of biomass was partitioned towards grain production, resulting in improved yield realization. These results demonstrate that optimization of seedling age and planting geometry enhanced reproductive efficiency and yield formation in transplanted finger millet. Similar findings have been reported by Rao et al. (2021) [11] , Prakash et al. (2021) [9] , Nagaraj et al. (2025) [7] and Ramesh et al. (2019) [10] . Overall, the results demonstrate that transplanting 28-dayold seedlings at an optimum planting geometry improved yield attributes, grain yield and harvest index by promoting better crop establishment, efficient resource utilization and enhanced assimilate partitioning under rainfed conditions.

Economics

The economics of finger millet cultivation was significantly influenced by seedling age, planting geometry and their interaction (Table 5). Among the establishment methods, transplanting 28-day-old seedlings (A 3 ) recorded significantly higher gross returns (Rs. 98,367.24 ha -1 ), net returns (Rs. 54,632.24 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.25), followed by 21-day-old seedlings (A 2 ), while the lowest economic returns were obtained with 14-day-old seedlings (A 1 (2025) [12] and Shiva Kumar et al., (2022) [13] .

Conclusion

The present investigation demonstrated that seedling age and planting geometry significantly influenced the productivity and profitability of transplanted finger millet under rainfed conditions. Transplanting 28-day-old seedlings markedly improved yield attributes, grain yield, nutrient uptake and economic returns compared with younger seedlings. Among the planting geometries, wider spacing (35 × 35 cm) provided a favourable crop environment by reducing inter-plant competition and improving the utilization of available resources, resulting in superior productivity and profitability. The interaction of 28-day-old seedlings with 35 × 35 cm spacing proved to be the most effective crop establishment strategy, recording the highest grain yield (3541 kg ha -1 ), nutrient uptake, gross returns (Rs. 115,436.60 ha -1 ), net returns (Rs. 71,701.60 ha - 1 ) and benefit ratio (2.64). Therefore, transplanting 28-dayold seedlings at a spacing of 35 × 35 cm may be considered an efficient and economically viable crop establishment strategy for transplanted finger millet.

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