International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development

author(s)
Sadhana R Babar, Vivek S Devaranavadagi and Ramesh Beerge

abstract
A field study in pearl millet was carried out at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Vijayapur during kharif 2021-22 and 2022-23. The soil of the experimental sight was sandy loam in texture. The experiment was designed in randomized block design, replicated thrice. The treatment details was T₁: Full package & practices of the location [(RDF+ ZnSO₄ + FeSO₄ + bioinoculant ST + thinning + weeding & hoeing + Irrigation] , T₂: T₁- RDF , T₃: T₁- ZnSO₄ at 25 kg/ha, T₄: T₁- FeSO₄ at 0.5-0.75% at 20-25 DAS, T₅: T₁- bioinoculant seed treatment, T₆: T₁- thinning & gap filling, T₇: T₁- weeding & hoeing (3 & 5 weeks after sowing) and T₈: T₁- Irrigation. Pooled data of two years indicated that, plant height, number of total tillers, effective tillers per plant and test weight were significantly increased in T₁ (174.0 cm, 4.07, 3.17 and 12.68 g, respectively) and it was found to be on par with T₃ and T₄. Grain and dry fodder yield were significantly higher in T₁: implementation of full package of practices (2694 and 5778 kg/ha, respectively). The grain yield was found to be on par with T₄: T₁- FeSO₄ at 0.5-0.75% at 20-25 DAS and T₅: T₁- bioinoculant seed treatment (2415 and 2405 kg/ha, respectively). The data indicated that percent grain yield reduction was 36-39% if proper fertilization (T₂) or weeding (T₇) was not carried out. Significantly higher net returns (Rs. 30468/ha) and B-C ratio (3.08) were found in full package of practices treatment (T₁) and lower in T₂ (Skipping RDF).