| Abstrakt: |
A field trial was conducted during the kharif seasons of 2021 and 2022, at UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru, Karnataka. The aim of the study was to investigate the agronomic performance of two varieties each in foxtail millet, proso millet and little millet across three sowing windows viz., second fortnight of august (W1), first fortnight of september (W2 ) and second fortnight of september (W3 ). There were 18 treatment combinations with three replications each, tested in RCBD with factorial design concept. In the study, significant variations were observed among the sowing windows and millet varieties with respect to plant height, leaf area, dry matter production, productive tillers, days to 50 per cent flowering and maturity, ear head length, ear head weight and yield. Foxtail millet consistently displayed higher values in several parameters, with genotype DHFt-109-3 showing superior performance in terms of ear head weight and ear head length. Proso millet demonstrated the early maturation, while little millet showed relatively late performance across different sowing windows. The first sowing window (W 1 ) consistently recorded the highest grain and straw yields across millet crops, followed by subsequent sowing windows W2 and W3 . The findings highlight the importance of sowing small millet crops in late kharif to optimize agronomic practices in aberrant weather condition. Additionally, the findings emphasize the importance of selecting suitable varieties that exhibit robust performance across different sowing windows, contributing to sustainable agriculture practices in the face of climate variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
