COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF RDF AND NANO FERTILIZER COMBINATIONS ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF PEARL MILLET (PENNISETUM GLAUCUM L.)

Abstract

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is an important climate-resilient cereal crop, particularly suited to semi-arid environments. Efficient nutrient management is essential for improving its productivity and profitability under such conditions. A field experiment was conducted during the kharif seasons of 2023 and 2024 at the Research Farm, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Gurugram, Haryana, India, to evaluate the effect of different combinations of recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) and nano-fertilizers on growth, yield, economics and post-harvest soil nutrient status of pearl millet. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with seven treatments and three replications. The treatments comprised 50, 75 and 100% RDF, with or without Nano-DAP seed treatment and foliar application of Nano-Urea and Nano-DAP at different growth stages. The pooled results showed that 75% RDF + Nano-DAP seed treatment @ 10 mL kg⁻¹ seed + three foliar applications of Nano-Urea and Nano-DAP at 15, 25 and 45 DAS (T₇) recorded the highest numerical values for most growth and yield attributes. T₇ recorded the highest plant height (199.44 cm), effective tillers (2.78 plant⁻¹), ear head length (25.49 cm) and grain weight per ear head (19.65 g) test weight (6.08 g). The highest pooled grain yield (2.60 t ha⁻¹), stover yield (6.49 t ha⁻¹) and biological yield (9.08 t ha⁻¹) were also recorded under T₇. T₇ recorded the highest gross returns (₹80,227.50 ha⁻¹) and net returns (₹49,806.96 ha⁻¹), whereas the highest B: C ratio was recorded under T₃ (3.03), followed by T₂ (2.96), T₆ (2.66) and T₇ (2.64). Post-harvest available N, P, K and S were numerically highest under T₇ (188.52, 21.05, 143.13 and 14.66 kg ha⁻¹, respectively), with T₇ being statistically at par with T₆ for several soil nutrient parameters. T₇ was also statistically at par with T₆ for several growth and yield attributes, although T₇ recorded significantly higher stover and biological yields. Overall, the integration of 75% RDF with Nano-DAP seed treatment and foliar application of Nano-Urea and Nano-DAP showed potential for improving pearl millet productivity and absolute economic returns under the irrigated conditions of the study. However, as corresponding 50% and 75% RDF treatments without nano-fertilizers were not included, the independent effect of RDF reduction could not be separated from the effect of nano-fertilizer application.