2024, Vol. 7, Special Issue 10

Background: Pearl millet {Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. emend Stuntz} is one of the important millet crop of hot and dry areas of arid and semiarid regions. Pearl millet survives in rain-fed area because of its drought escaping mechanisms but still responds well to all inputs including fertilizers. Urea is the major source of fertilizer-N; 83.1 per cent urea offers the most N at the lowest cost, has no storage risks and can be used for all types of crops and soils with little or no harm to the soil. The oil extracted from the seeds of neem and the cake left after oil extraction possess nitrification inhibition properties. Both the oil and the cake can be used to coat urea for escalating urea N use efficiency in cropping systems. Insufficient supply of sulphur can affect yield and quality of the crops, because S is required for synthesis of the three amino acids cysteine, cystine and methionine and in the formation of various enzyme and proteins.

Method: The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The experiment was consisting ten treatments viz., neem coated urea at 50%, 75% and 100% with sulphur @15, 30 and 45kg/ha respectively.

Result: The experimental results showed that application of neem coated urea 100% + sulphur at 45 kg produced significantly higher plant height and dry matter accumulation at 30, 60 DAS and at harvest, LAI at 45 DAS, chlorophyll content at 45 DAS, total number of tillers plant-1 at harvest, number of effective tillers plant^-1, number of grains ear^-1, ear length, test weight, grain, stover and biological yield, nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur) content in grain and stover and their uptake, protein content in grain, gross, net returns and benefit cost ratio over control. However in plant population at 30 DAS and harvest and harvest index of pearl millet application of various levels of neem coated urea + sulphur did not bring significant variation.