Abstract
The present study was aimed to evaluate the influence of seedling age and planting pattern on grain and straw yield, labour productivity, and economics of transplanted finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.) by conducting the field experiment at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during Kharif, 2019 (July to November). The experiment was laid out in split-plot design and each treatment was replicated thrice. It consisted of three seedling ages viz., 14, 17, and 20 days (old seedlings) as main plot factor and four planting patterns viz., rectangular (30 cm × 10 cm) and square (25 cm × 25 cm) planting with one and two number of seedlings per hill as subplot factor. From the experimental results, yield, labour productivity, and economics of finger millet differed due to seedling age and planting pattern. Transplanting of 20 days old seedlings under rectangular planting (30 cm × 10 cm) with two seedlings per hill recorded higher grain yield, straw yield, labour productivity, gross return, net return, and B:C ratio. Younger seedlings of 14 days old transplanted under rectangular planting (30 cm × 10 cm) with two seedlings per hill recorded a higher cost of cultivation.
Highlights
Finger millet is a predominant dryland crop due to its resilience and ability to withstand aberrant weather conditions and is majorly cultivated in the semiarid regions of Africa and Asia
Finger millet is comparable with rice in terms of carbohydrate, protein, and fat and has 8 to 10 times more calcium than rice (Chappalwar et al, 2013)
Finger millet is considered as a crop for the future, which secures food and nutrition for growing populations
Summary
Beyond the optimum age of seedlings, the crop cannot attain its full growth and yield potential. Plant density is another essential factor determined by crop spacing and the number of seedlings per hill. They largely influence the interception of solar radiation, photosynthesis rate, water, nutrient uptake, and other physiological phenomena (Imran et al, 2015). Keeping in view the above important points, the present research was conducted to find the optimum age of seedlings, spacing, and number of seedlings per hill to get higher productivity and profitability of finger millet under transplanted conditions
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