Response of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) to soil and foliar application of fertilizers under rainfed conditions

The field experiment was conducted at Experimental Farm, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Latur during kharif, 2023 on clayey soil to study response of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) to soil and foliar application of fertilizers under rainfed conditions. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design. The eight treatments were replicated thrice. The treatments were T₁: Control, T₂: 100% RDN, T₃: 75% RDN + 2% Urea, T₄: 75% RDN + 2% KNO₃, T₅: 75% RDN + 2% DAP, T₆: 100% RDN + 2% Urea, T₇: 100% RDN + 2% KNO₃ and T₈: 100% RDN + 2% DAP. The results indicated that growth and yield of finger millet were influenced significantly due to various treatments. The application of 100% RDN + 2% Urea (T₆) recorded higher plant height plant^-1 (110.24 cm), no. of tillers plant^-1 (3.67), no. of functional leaves plant^-1 (50.10), leaf area plant^-1 (6.94 dm²), LAI (3.08) and dry matter accumulation plant^-1 (55.55 g) which was at par with 100% RDN + 2% DAP (T₈) and 100% RDF + 2% KNO₃ (T₇) and found significantly superior over rest of the treatments. Highest grain yield (2523 kg ha^-1) was observed with the application of 100% RDN + 2% Urea (T₆) which was at par with 100% RDN + 2% DAP (T₈) and found significantly superior over rest of the treatments. Highest harvest index was observed with the application of 100% RDN + 2% Urea (T₆).