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Plant Science Today (PST)

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Early Access

Influence of seed hardening, soil and foliar nutrition of pearl millet under rainfed conditions

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.7757
Submitted
15 February 2025
Published
23-06-2025
Versions

Abstract

Pearl millet, often called the 'Poor Man’s Food,' is vital for millions of low-income households. A field experiment was conducted at Manathal village, Salem district, Tamil Nadu, during June-August 2021. The study followed an RBD design with three replications. There were altogether thirteen treatments viz., T1 - Control, T2 - Seed treatment with 2 % KCl + soil application of vermicompost (VC) @ 5 t ha-1, T3 - Seed treatment with 3 % Panchagavya + soil application of VC @ 5 t ha-1, T4 - Seed treatment with 2 % KCl + soil application of humic acid (HA) @ 25 kg ha-1, T5 - Seed treatment with 3 % Panchagavya + soil application of HA @ 25 kg ha-1, T6 - Seed treatment with 2 % Kcl + soil application of seaweed extract (SE) @ 25 kg ha-1, T7 - Seed treatment with 3 % Panchagavya + soil application of SE @ 25 kg ha-1, T8 - T2 + foliar application of 19:19:19 @ 25 days after sowing (DAS), T9 - T3 + foliar application of 19:19:19 @ 25 DAS, T10 - T4 + foliar application of 19:19:19 @ 25 DAS, T11 - T5 + foliar application of 19:19:19 @ 25 DAS, T12 - T6 + foliar application of 19:19:19 @ 25 DAS, T13 - T7 + foliar application of 19:19:19 @ 25 DAS. Seed treatment with 2 % KCl + soil application of VC @ 5 t ha-1 + foliar spray of 19:19:19 @ 25 DAS (T8) showed superior performance of pearl millet under rainfed conditions.

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