Influence of organic nutrients and bio-inoculations on growth and yield of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.)

The judicious use of chemical fertilisers in the last few decades results many soil and environmental hazards. The proper management of organic nutrients can minimise the dependency on chemical fertilisers and provide sustainability in finger millet production. To know the response of crop growth rate and yield of finger millet with different organic nutrient management practices, the present investigation was conducted during 2024 at the Crop Research Centre, School of Agricultural Sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design, consisting of six treatments which were replicated thrice by using finger millet var. VL Mandua 347. Crop growth was measured at 30, 60, 90 days after transplanting and harvest, with yield data recorded from five randomly selected plants per treatment plot. The experimental findings show that the plant growth and yield parameters like plant height (114.50 cm), dry matter accumulation (48.30 g/plant), number of ear heads/plant (4.88), number of fingers/ear head (8.47), number of grains/ fingers (294), test weight (3.46 g) and grain yield (2445 kg/ha) was recorded maximum with application of vermicompost @ 1t/ha + Panchagavya @ 3% + Azospirillum @ 5kg/ha + PSB @ 20g/ha (T5). The experimental findings say that combined use of organic manure with bio incubators resulted in better growth and yield of the crop. The application of vermicompost @ 1t/ha + Panchagavya @ 3% + Azospirillum @ 5kg/ha + PSB @ 20g/ha was recorded best among all other treatments for higher growth and yield of finger millet.