Integrated use of moringa and soil applied press mud proved a smart agricultural practice for improving anti-oxidant defense mechanism, nitrogen and water efficiency in rainfed Panicum miliaceum crop

Abstract Pros-millet is emerging as a tolerant crop to marginal agricultural system with limited natural resources, but unfortunately, due to short growing period under soil nitrogen deficit condition become the challenge for proso-millet cultivating community. For this, field trials were conducted on the moringa applications with the addition of various soil organic press mud treatments at the Experimental Research Farm-BZU, Pakistan during the summer growing seasons (2022, 2023). The combine effect of applied moringa via bio-priming + moringa spray resulted the significantly higher values in yield related attributes {fodder yield (28.54%), total biological yield (22.19%)} under the soil applied urea (22.5 kg ha⁻ ¹) + press mud (2500 kg ha⁻ ¹) during the year-II than year-I. Bio-priming + moringa spray treatment improved the anti-oxidants status by enhancing water use efficiency (3.36%), and nitrogen use efficiency (0.78%) in the proso-millets plants during the soil applied treatment of urea (22.5 kg ha⁻ ¹) + press mud (2500 kg ha⁻ ¹). The notable economic outcome was received in the applied treatments bio-priming + moringa spray urea (22.5 kg ha-1) + press mud (2500 kg ha⁻ ¹) for proso-millet production in terms of a cut above net income (258.14 US$ ha⁻ ¹) and benefit cost ratio (1.59). This project study prominently noted that proso-millet crop can be cultivated for grain and fodder purposes with the treatment applied moringa bio-priming plus spray under the use of soil organic nitrogen through urea (22.5 kg ha⁻ ¹) + press mud (2500 kg ha⁻ ¹) in the rainfed regions of Pakistan.