Finger Millet Residue Management: Impacts on Soil Health and System Productivity in Succeeding Crops – A Review

Abstract— Rainfed and upland agriculture in India faces mounting challenges due to continuous cereal monoculture, leading to soil degradation and vulnerability to climate variability. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.), a climate-resilient and nutrient-rich small millet, offers a sustainable alternative for diversification. This review synthesizes evidence on the role of finger millet residue management in enhancing the productivity, nutrient uptake, soil properties, and economics of succeeding crops. With significant residue biomass (approximately 5 tonnes ha⁻¹) often underutilized, in-situ incorporation or mulching of these residues consistently improves dry matter accumulation, growth, and yield of subsequent legumes and cereals. These practices enhance nutrient cycling, increasing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium uptake by 10-30% in crops like greengram, groundnut, and maize. Long-term residue retention boosts soil organic carbon by 15-30%, reduces bulk density, and improves overall soil fertility compared to removal or burning. Economically, residue-based systems, particularly when integrated with legumes, yield higher gross and net returns with favorable benefit-cost ratios, despite marginally higher initial costs. Finger millet residue management is thus a viable strategy for ecological intensification. Adopting finger millet–legume systems with efficient residue recycling can significantly contribute to soil health, climate resilience, and livelihood security in India's rainfed regions.