Sustainable finger millet cultivation: Leveraging organic nutrient sources for productivity and soil health

Organic farming plays a pivotal role in promoting sustainable agriculture by enhancing soil health, improving crop productivity and minimizing environmental impacts. Finger millet, a vital rainfed crop, often encounters significant yield limitations due to poor soil fertility and inadequate nutrient availability. To address these challenges, a field study was conducted during the Kharif seasons of 2022-23 and 2023-24 at the Research Institute on Organic Farming, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of various organic nutrient sources on growth, yield, nutrient uptake, availability and microbial status of finger millet. The experiment comprised seven organic nutrient treatments applied on a nitrogen equivalency basis, along with an absolute control and was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The findings revealed that the application of poultry manure at 100 % nitrogen equivalency significantly enhanced plant growth, yield attributes, nutrient dynamics, soil microbial activity and enzymatic functions. Vermicompost and deoiled cake treatments also demonstrated notable improvements in productivity and soil health. Conversely, the absolute control consistently recorded the lowest values across all parameters. This study highlights the effectiveness oforganic nutrient management, particularly poultry manure, in sustainably enhancing finger millet productivity and soil health.