Effect of crop geometry and nutrient levels on productivity of transplanted finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) under irrigated conditions

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 2025–26 at SRM College of Agricultural Sciences, Tamil Nadu, India, to study the effects of crop geometry and nutrient management practices for transplanted finger millet in irrigated conditions. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with 3 replications. The finger millet variety ATL-1 was transplanted at 21 days after sowing (DAS). Growth, physiological, yield attributes and yield parameters were recorded during the crop period. Among the treatments, 30 × 10 cm spacing combined with split application of 50 % recommended dose of fertilisers (RDF) at basal + 25 % at active tillering + 25 % at flowering recorded superior growth and physiological performance, including higher plant height, dry matter production, tiller count, leaf area index and chlorophyll content. The same treatment also produced higher yield attributes and recorded maximum grain yield (1415 kg ha-1), straw yield (4330 kg ha-1). The study indicated that optimum crop geometry combined with split nutrient application enhanced growth, physiological efficiency and yield of transplanted finger millet under irrigated conditions. The heatmap analysis based on normalised values further confirmed that the M1S3 treatment exhibited the best overall performance across all observed growth, yield attributes and yield parameters.